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THE  MEXICAN  TWINS 

By  Lucy  Fitch  Perkins 

ILLUSTRATED    BY   THE   AUTHOR 


BOSTON    NEW  YORK   CHICAGO 

HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN   COMPANY 

dbe  fiitoerji&e  $re«9  Cambridge 


Iwp  jFttcl)  Jhriune 


Geographical  Series 

THE  DUTCH  TWINS  PRIMER.     Grade  I. 
THE  DUTCH  TWINS.     Grade  lit. 
THE  ESKIMO  TWINS.     Grade  II. 
THE  JAPANESE  TWINS.     Grade  IV. 
THE  IRISH  TWINS.     O<wfc  K. 
THE  SCOTCH  TWINS.     Grades  V and  VI. 
THE  MEXICAN  TWINS.     Grade  VI. 
TWC   BELGIAN  TWINS.     Grade  VI. 
THE  FRENCH  TWINS.     Grade  VII. 

Historical  Series 

THE  CAVE  TWINS.     Grade  IV. 

THE  SPARTAN  TWINS.     Grades  V-VI. 


Each  volume  is  illustrated  by  the  author 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
BOSTON  N«w  YORK  CHICAGO' 


COPYRIGHT,  1915,   BY  LUCY  FITCH    PERKINS 
ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


prrft 

CAMBRIDGE  .   MASSACHUSETTS 
V  .  S  .  A 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION  —  THE  MEXICAN  TWINS         . 
I.  SAN  RAMON'S  DAY  IN  -HE  MORNING 
II.  THE  BLESSING      .        ... 

III.  THE  PARTY 

IV.  TONIC'S  BAD  DAY        . 
V.  JUDAS  ISCARIOT  DAY 

VI.  THE  ADVENTURE 

VII.  WHILE  THEY  WERE  GONE         .        . 
VIII.  THE  SECRET  MEETING 

IX.  CHRISTMAS  AT  THE  HACIENDA 


i 
5 

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59 

85 
109 

123 
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161 


2209409 


THE  MEXICAN  TWINS 


THE  MEXICAN   TWINS 

This  is  a  picture  of  Antonio  Francisco  Gomez1 
and  his  twin  sister,  Margarita  Teresa  Gomez. 

They  live  on  the  great  hacienda*  or  plantation, 
of  Senor  Fernandez,3  in  the  wonderful  country  of 
Mexico,  and  they  are  eight  years  old. 

The  boy  is  named  Antonio  for  Saint  Antonio 
and  Francisco  for  his  father,  and  the  girl  is  named 
Margarita  for  Saint  Margarita  and  Teresa  for  her 
mother. 

But  nobody  ever  thinks  of  calling  the  Twins  by 
all  these  names.  They  are  called  just  Tonio  and 
Tita,  to  save  time. 

Even  their  father  is  n't  called  by  his  long  name  I 
Everybody  calls  him  Pancho  4  —  that  is,  everybody 
but  the  Twins,  of  course. 

Their  mother  is  n't  called  anything  at  all  for 
short.  She  is  always  called  Dona  Teresa*  I  do  not 
know  why  this  is,  unless  perhaps  it  is  because  she 

1  Pronounced  Go'mess.  4  Pahn'cho. 

2  Ah-sl-en'-dah.  5  Don'ya  Tay-ray'sa. 

3  Fer-nahn'dess. 


can  make  better  tortillas,  and  chicken  mole,  and 
candied  sweet  potatoes  than  any  one  else  on  the 
whole  hacienda. 

Pancho  is  a  vaquero,  or  cowboy. 

There  are  hundreds  of  cows  and  oxen  and  sheep 
and  goats  on  Senor  Fernandez's  hacienda,  and  all 
day  long,  every  day,  Pancho  rides  about  on  his 
horse  Pinto,  rounding  up  cattle,  driving  the  cows 
to  pasture  after  milking,  or  getting  the  oxen  to- 
gether for  the  plowing. 

The  Twins  think  it  is  a  fine  thing  to  be  a  vaquero 
and  ride  horseback  all  the  time. 

Tonio  means  to  be  one  when  he  grows  up.  He 
practices  riding  on  Tonto,  the  donkey,  now,  and 
he  has  had  his  own  lasso  since  he  was  six. 

If  you  will  turn  the  page  you  will  find  a  picture 
of  the  little  adobe  hut  where  Tonio  and  Tita  and 
Pancho  and  Dona  Teresa  live.  Pancho  is  n't  in 
the  picture,  because  he  and  Pinto  are  away  in  the 
fields,  but  Dona  Teresa  is  there  grinding  her  corn, 
and  Tita  is  feeding  the  chickens,  while  Tonio  plays 
with  his  dog,  Jasmin.1 

Tonto  is  looking  out  from  the  shed  at  the  end  of 
the  hut.  Tita's  cat  is  on  the  roof.  She  is  almost 
always  on  the  roof  when  Jasmin  is  about. 

Beside  the  hut  is  a  fig  tree,  which  bears  the  most 
1  Hahss-meen'. 

2 


delicious  figs.  Every  night  the  red  rooster,  the  five 
hens,  and  the  turkey  go  to  roost  in  its  branches,  and 
every  day  its  green  boughs  make  a  pleasant  shade 
across  the  dooryard. 

Back  of  the  hut  there  is  a  tiny  garden  with  bee- 
hives, and  beyond  that  there  is  a  path  through  the 
woods  that  leads  down  to  a  little  river.  It  was  in  this 
very  path,  just  where  the  stepping-stones  cross  the 
river,  that  Tonio  met  —  But  there !  it  tells  all  about 
that  in  the  story  and  you  can  read  it  for  yourselves. 


I 

SAN  RAMON'S  DAY  IN  THE 
MORNING 


I 

SAN  RAMON'S  DAY  IN  THE 
I  MORNING 

i 

ONE  summer  morning  the  red  rooster  on 
his  perch  in  the  fig  tree  woke  up  and  took  a 
look  at  the  sky. 

He  was  a  very  responsible  rooster.  He 
was  always  the  first  one  up  in  the  morning, 
and  I  really  think  he  believed  that  if  it  were 
not  for  him  the  sun  himself  would  forget  to 
rise. 

It  was  so  very  early  that  a  few  stars  still 
shone,  and  a  pale  moon  was  sailing  away 
toward  the  west.  Over  the  eastern  hills  the 
rooster  saw  a  pink  cloud,  and  knew  at  once 
that  it  was  time  to  wake  the  world.  He  stood 
up  and  stretched  his  wings.  Then  he  crowed 
so  long  and  loud  that  he  nearly  fell  off  his 

5 


perch  backward,  on  to  the  cat,  who  was 
sleeping  on  the  roof  just  below. 

"  Cock  a  doodle  do-o-o!"  he  screamed. 
"I  'm  awake,  are  you-oo-oo?" 

At  least  that  is  the  way  it  must  have 
sounded  to  all  the  other  roosters  in  the  lit- 
tle village,  for  they  began  at  once  to  answer 
him. 

"  Cock  a  doodle  doo-oo,  we  're  up  as  soon 
as  you-oo,"  they  cried;  and  soon  there  was 
such  a  chorus  of  them  calling  back  and  forth 
that  the  five  hens  woke  up,  one  after  an- 
other, and  flew  down  from  the  perch,  to  hunt 
bugs  for  their  breakfast. 

Last  of  all  the  turkey  opened  his  eyes  and 
flapped  heavily  to  the  ground,  gobbling  all 
the  way. 

The  cat  stretched  herself  and  sprang  from 
the  roof  to  the  fig  tree  and  sharpened  her 
claws  on  its  bark. 

The  birds  began  to  sing,  and  still  there 
was  no  sound  from  the  tiny  gray  adobe 
house  under  the  fig  tree. 

The  little  white  hen  tiptoed  round  to  the 

6 


front  of  the  hut  and  peeped  in  at  the  open 
door.  There  in  one  corner  of  their  one  room 
lay  Tonio  and  Tita  and  their  father  and 
mother,  all  sound  asleep. 

The  little  white  hen  must  have  told  the  red 
rooster  what  she  saw,  for  he  followed  her  and 
looked  into  the  hut  too.  Then  he  ruffled  his 
neck  feathers,  flapped  his  wings,  and  crowed 
so  loudly  that  Pancho  and  Dona  Teresa  and 
the  Twins  all  woke  at  once  and  sat  up  with 
a  bounce,  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

It  startled  the  little  white  hen  to  see  them 
all  sit  up  suddenly  in  a  row,  so  she 
squawked  and  scrambled  out  through  the 
open  door  as  fast  as  she  could  go. 

The  red  rooster  ran  too,  and  the  two  of 
them  never  stopped  until  they  disappeared 
behind  the  bee-hives  in  the  garden. 

ii 

The  moment  she  was  really  awake,  Dona 
Teresa  began  to  talk. 

"Upon  my  soul!"  she  cried,  crossing 
herself,  "the  red  rooster  gave  me  a  dread- 

7 


ful  turn.  I  was  just  in  the  midst  of  a  most 
beautiful  dream !  But  now  he  has  driven  it 
all  out  of  my  head  with  his  silly  noise, 
and  I  cannot  even  remember  what  it  was 
about!" 

Dona  Teresa  rose,  and  while  she  talked 
she  deftly  rolled  up  the  mat  on  which  she 
had  slept  and  stood  it  on  end  in  the  corner 
of  the  room.  You  see  it  did  n't  take  any  time 
at  all  to  dress,  because  they  always  slept 
with  their  clothes  on.  But  Dona  Teresa  was 
very  particular  about  one  thing.  She  made 
them  all  wash  their  faces  and  hands  the  very 
first  thing  every  single  morning! 

For  a  wash-basin  there  was  a  part  of  a 
log,  hollowed  out  like  a  trough.  Beside  the 
hollow  log  there  was  a  large  red  olla,  with  a 
gourd  in  it.  Pancho  had  dipped  water  from 
the  olla  into  the  trough  and  was  already 
splashing  about,  while  Dona  Teresa  rolled 
the  Twins  off  on  to  the  floor  and  placed  their 
mats  in  the  corner  with  the  others. 

"  Come,  my  pigeons,"  she  said  to  them, 
"it  is  time  to  be  stirring.  We  are  very  lazy 

9 


to  lie  in  bed  after  cockcrow  on  San  Ramon's ' 
Day !  " 

"Oh,  Little  Mother,"  cried  Tita,  picking 
herself  up,  "  is  it  really  the  fiesta  of  San 
Ramon  ?  And  may  I  take  the  little  white 
hen  to  be  blessed,  all  myself?" 

"  You  may  take  the  little  white  hen  if 
you  can  catch  her,"  Dona  Teresa  answered. 
"  Indeed,  we  must  take  all  the  animals,  or  at 
the  very  least  one  of  each  kind  to  stand  for 
all  the  others.  The  turkey  must  be  caught, 
and  the  goat  must  be  brought  from  the  field 
so  I  can  milk  her.  Tonto  [that  was  what 
they  called  the  donkey]  is  waiting  in  the 
shed  to  be  made  ready,  not  to  speak  of 
the  cat  and  dog!  Bless  my  soul,  how  many 
things  there  are  to  be  done ! " 

While  his  mother  talked,  Tonio  had  taken 
his  lasso  down  from  the  nail  where  it  hung, 
and  was  just  quietly  slipping  out  of  the  door 
with  it,  when  Dona  Teresa  saw  him.  "  Here 
you --Tonio,"  she  cried,  "come  back  and 
wash  yourself!" 

1  Pronounced  Sahn  Rah-mon'. 
10 


"  Can't  I  wait  until  I  've  caught  Pinto  ?  " 
Tonio  begged.  "What's  the  use  of  wash- 
ing? You  only  get  dirty  again.  Lots  of  the 
boys  don't  wash  at  all  except  on  Sunday." 

"Come  right  back  and  wash  yourself  this 
minute,"  commanded  Dona  Teresa.  "You 
might  as  well  say  it 's  no  use  to  eat  your 


1 1 


breakfast  because  you  '11  be  hungry  again 
right  away !  As  long  as  I  'm  your  mother 
you  shall  begin  the  day  right  at  least." 

Tonio  groaned  a  little,  and  came  back  to 
the  trough.  There  he  did  something  that  he 
called  washing,  though  I  feel  quite  sure  that 
there  were  corners  behind  his  ears  that  were 
not  even  wet! 

On  the  wall  above  the  place  where  the 
sleeping  mats  had  been  spread,  there  was  a 
picture  of  the  Virgin  and  Child,  and  Dona 
Teresa  kept  a  little  taper  always  burning 
before  the  picture. 

When  they  had  all  washed,  Dona  Teresa 
called  Pancho  and  the  Twins  to  her  side,  and 
all  four  knelt  in  a  row  before  the  picture, 
crossed  themselves,  and  murmured  a  little 
prayer. 

"If  you  want  the  day  to  go  right,"  said 
Dona  Teresa  as  she  rose  from  her  knees, 
"  always  begin  with  saying  your  prayers  and 
washing  your  face.  And  now,  Tonio,  run  and 
catch  Pinto  for  your  father  while  I  get  his 
breakfast,  for  the  cows  must  be  rounded  up 

12 


for  milking  even  if  it  is  San  Ramon's  Day; 
and  Tita,  you  take  the  little  red  olla  and  go 
for  water!  " 

.    in 

While  the  Twins  were  gone  on  these  er- 
rands, Pancho  fed  the  donkey,  and  Dona 
Teresa  made  the  fire  in  her  queer  little  stove ; 
only  she  did  n't  call  it  a  stove  —  she  called 
it  a  brasero?  It  was  a  sort  of  box  built  up 
of  clay  and  stones.  The  brasero  stood  in  an 

1  Brah-say'ro. 
13 


alcove,  and  beside  it  was  a  large  red  olla, 
which  Dona  Teresa  kept  filled  with  water 
for  her  cooking.  Beyond  the  brasero  was  a 
cupboard  for  the  dishes. 

Dona  Teresa  knelt  before  the  brasero  and 
pulled  out  the  ashes  of  yesterday's  fire.  Then 
she  put  in  some  little  sticks,  lighted  them, 
and  set  a  flat  red  dish  on  top  of  the  brasero 
over  the  tiny  flames. 

In  the  corner  of  the  room  there  was  a 
pretty  basket  covered  with  a  white  drawn- 
work  napkin.  Dona  Teresa  turned  back  the 
napkin  and  counted  out  ten  flat  cakes,  made 
of  corn  meal.  They  were  yesterday's  tortil- 
las. These  she  put  in  the  dish  to  heat. 

When  they  were  warm,  she  brought  some 
of  them  to  Pancho,  with  a  dish  of  beans  and 
red  chile  sauce.  Pancho  sat  down  on  a  flat 
stone  under  the  fig  tree  to  eat  his  breakfast. 
He  had  no  knife  or  fork  or  spoon,  but  he 
really  did  not  need  them,  for  he  tore  the  tor- 
tillas into  wedge-shaped  pieces  and  scooped 
up  the  beans  and  chile  sauce  with  them,  and 
ate  scoop, 'beans,  chile  sauce,  and  all  in  one 


mouthful.  The  chile  sauce  was  so  hot  with 
red  pepper  that  you  would  have  thought 
that  Pancho  must  have  had  a  tin  throat  in 
order  to  swallow  it  at  all ;  but  he  was  used 
to  it,  and  never  even  winked  his  eyes  when 
it  went  down.  Just  as  he  was  taking  the  last 
bite  of  the  last  tortilla,  Tonio  came  back,  lead- 
ing Pinto  by  the  rope  of  his  lasso. 

Tonio  was  very  proud  of  catching  Pinto 
and  bringing  him  back  to  his  father  all  by 
himself.  He  even  put  the  saddle  on.  But  the 
moment  he  felt  the  saddle-girth  around  him 
Pinto  swelled  up  like  everything,  so  that 
Tonio  could  n't  buckle  it!  Tonio  pulled  and 
tugged  until  he  was  red  in  the  face,  but  Pinto 
just  stood  still  with  his  ears  turned  back,  and 
stayed  swelled. 

Then  Pancho  came  up.  He  took  hold  of 
the  strap,  braced  his  knee  against  Pinto's 
side,  and  pulled. 

Pinto  knew  it  was  no  use  holding  his 
breath  any  longer,  so  he  let  go,  and  in  a  min- 
ute Pancho  had  the  strap  securely  fastened 
and  had  vaulted  into  the  saddle. 

'5 


He  was  just  starting  away,  when  Dona 
Teresa  came  running  out  of  the  hut  with 
something  in  her  hand.  "Here  's  a  bite  of 
lunch  for  you,"  she  said,  "in  case  you  get 
hungry  in  the  field.  There  's  beans  and  chile 
sauce  and  four  tortillas." 

She  had  put  it  all  nicely  in  a  little  dish 
with  the  tortillas  fitted  in  like  a  cover  over 
the  chile  sauce  and  beans,  and  it  was  all  tied 
up  in  a  clean  white  cloth. 

16 


Pancho  took  off  his  sombrero,  put  the  dish 
carefully  on  his  head,  and  clapped  his  hat 
down  over  it.  The  hat  was  large,  and  the 
dish  just  fitted  the  crown,  so  it  seemed  quite 
safe.  Then  he  galloped  off,  looking  very 
grand  and  gay,  with  his  red  serape  flying 
out  behind  him. 

When  he  was  out  of  sight,  Dona  Teresa 
and  the  Twins  had  their  breakfasts  too,  sit- 
ting on  the  stones  under  the  fig  tree. 


II 

THE  BLESSING 


II 

THE  BLESSING 

i 

WHEN  breakfast  was  over  you  could  tell  by 
the  long,  long  shadow  of  the  fig  tree  that 
it  was  still  very  early  in  the  morning.  On 
sunny  days  Dona  Teresa  could  tell  the  time 
almost  exactly  by  its  shadow,  but  on  rainy 
days  she  just  had  to  guess,  because  there 
was  no  clock  in  her  little  cabin. 

It  was  lucky  that  it  was  so  early,  because 
there  were  so  many  things  to  be  done.  The 
Twins  and  their  mother  were  not  the  only 
busy  people  about,  however,  for  there  were 
two  hundred  other  peons  beside  Pancho 
who  worked  on  the  hacienda,  and  each  one 
had  a  little  cabin  where  he  lived  with  his 
family. 

There  were  other  vaqueros  besides  Pan- 
'9 


cho.  There  were  ploughmen,  and  farmers, 
and  water-carriers,  and  servants  for  thegreat 
white  house  where  Senor  Fernandez  lived 
with  his  wife  and  pretty  daughter  Carmen. 
And  there  was  the  gatekeeper,  Jose,  whom 
the  Twins  loved  because  he  knew  the  most 
wonderful  stories  and  was  always  willing  to 
tell  them. 

There  were  field-workers,  and  wood-cut- 
ters, and  even  fishermen.  The  huts  where 
they  all  lived  were  huddled  together  like  a 
little  village,  and  the  village,  and  the  country 
for  miles  and  miles  around,  and  the  big 
house,  and  the  little  chapel  beside  it,  and 
the  schoolhouse,  and  everything  else  on 
that  great  hacienda,  belonged  to  Senor  Fer- 
nandez. 

It  almost  seemed  as  if  the  workers  all 
belonged  to  Senor  Fernandez,  too,  for  they 
had  to  do  just  what  he  told  them  to,  and 
there  was  no  other  place  for  them  to  go  and 
nothing  else  for  them  to  do  if  they  had 
wanted  ever  so  much  to  change. 

1  Ho-sa . 
20 


All  the  people,  big  and  little,  loved  the 
fiesta  of  San  Ramon.  They  thought  the 
priest's  blessing  would  cause  the  hens  to 
lay  more  eggs,  and  the  cows  to  give  more 
milk,  and  that  it  would  keep  all  the  creatures 
well  and  .strong. 

Though  it  was  a  feast  day,  most  of  the 
men  had  gone  away  from  their  homes  early, 
when  Pancho  did;  but  the  women  and  chil- 
dren in  all  the  little  cabins  were  busy  as  bees, 
getting  themselves  and  their  animals  ready 
to  go  in  procession  to  the  place  where  the 
priest  was  to  bless  them. 

As  soon  as  breakfast  was  eaten,  Dona 
Teresa  said  to  Tonio :  "  Go  now,  my  Tonio, 
and  make  Tonto  beautiful !  His  coat  is  rough 
and  full  of  burs,  and  he  will  make  a  very  poor 
figure  to  show  the  priest  unless  you  give  him 
a  good  brushing.  Only  be  careful  of  his  hind 
legs.  You  know  Tonto  is  sometimes  very 
wild  with  his  hind  legs.  It  is  strange  to  me 
that  his  front  ones  should  be  so  much  more 
tame,  but  it  seems  to  be  the  nature  of  the 
poor  creature." 

21 


Tonio  went  to  Tonto's  shed  and  brought 
him  out  and  tied  him  to  a  tree.  Then  he 
brushed  his  coat  and  took  out  the  burs,  and 
braided  the  end  of  his  tail,  and  even  made  a 
wreath  of  green  leaves  and  hung  it  over  his 
left  ear.  And  Tonto  seemed  to  know  that  it 

22 


was  San  Ramon's  Day,  for  he  never  kicked 
at  all,  and  brayed  only  once,  when  Tonio 
pulled  a  very  large  bur  out  of  his  ear. 

ii 

While  Tonio  was  making  Tonto  beauti- 
ful, Tita  swept  the  ground  under  the  fig 
tree  and  sprinkled  it  with  water,  and  washed 
and  put  away  the  few  dishes  they  had 
used. 

Her  mother  was  very  busy  meanwhile, 
grinding  the  corn  for  tortillas.  You  see, 
every  single  meal  they  had  tortillas.  It  was 
their  bread,  and  their  meat  too,  most  of  the 
time,  so  it  would  never  do  to  miss  getting 
the  corn  ground,  not  even  if  it  were  the 
greatest  feast  day  of  the  whole  year. 

When  Tita  had  finished  putting  things 
in  order,  her  mother  said  to  her,  "  Now,  my 
pigeon,  see  if  you  can't  catch  the  little  white 
hen,  and  the  red  rooster,  and  the  turkey. 
The  red  rooster  crows  so  sweetly  I  shall 
miss  him  when  he  is  put  in  the  pot,  but  he 
is  not  long  for  this  world  !  He  is  so  greedy 


there  's  no  satisfying  him  with  food.  He  has 
no  usefulness  at  all,  except  to  wake  us  in 
the  morning. 

"  But  the  little  white  hen  now !  There  is 
the  useful  one !  She  has  already  begun  to 
lay.  She  must  surely  go  to  the  priest.  And 
as  for  the  turkey,  he  needs  to  go  for  the  sake 
of  his  temper  1  I  hope  thzpadrecito  will  lay 
a  spell  on  him  to  stop  his  gobbling  from 
morning  till  night.  It  will  be  no  grief  to  me 
when  he  is  put  on  to  boil." 

The  red  rooster,  the  hen,  and  the  turkey 
were  all  wandering  round  in  the  little  patch 
of  garden  behind  the  house,  when  Tita  came 
out,  rattling  some  corn  in  a  dish. 

The  red  rooster  began  to  run  the  moment 
he  heard  corn  rattle,  and  he  called  to  the 
hens  to  come  too.  He  seemed  to  think  they 
would  n't  know  enough  even  to  eat  corn  un- 
less he  advised  them  to. 

They  swarmed  around  Tita's  feet,  peck- 
ing at  each  other  and  snatching  greedily  at 
each  kernel  as  it  fell. 

"  You  all  need  to  go  to  the  priest  for  your 
24 


manners,"  Tita  said  to  them  severely.  "You 
behave  like  the  pigs." 

She  set  the  dish  down  on  the  ground,  and 
when  they  all  tried  to  get  their  heads  into  it 
at  once,  she  picked  out  the  legs  of  the  red 
rooster  and  seized  them  with  one  hand,  and 
those  of  the  little  white  hen  with  the  other, 
and  before  they  could  guess  what  in  the 
world  was  happening  to  them  she  had  them 
safely  in  the  house,  where  she  tied  them  to 
the  legs  of  the  table. 

m 

When  Tita  went  back  after  the  turkey, 
she  found  him  eating  the  very  last  kernels 
of  corn  out  of  the  dish.  He  had  driven  all 
the  hens  away  and  was  having  a  very  nice 
time  by  himself.  Tita  made  a  grab  for  his 
legs,  but  he  was  too  quick  for  her.  He  flew 
up  into  the  fig  tree  and  from  there  to  the 
roof.  Tita  looked  up  at  him  anxiously. 

"  Don't  you  think  you  ought  to  get 
blessed?"  she  said.  "Come  down  now, 
that's  a  good  old  gobbler!  Mother  says 

25 


your  temper  is  so  bad  you  must  surely  go 
to  the  priest,  and  how  can  I  take  you  if  you 
won't  come  down?" 

"  Gobble,"   said  the  turkey,  and  stayed 
where  he  was. 

26 


Tita  was  in  despair.  She  threw  a  stick 
at  him,  but  he  only  walked  up  the  thatched 
roof  with  his  toes  turned  in,  and  sat  down 
on  the  ridge-pole. 

Just  then  Tita  looked  down  the  river  path, 
and  there  was  Tonio  coming  with  the  goat ! 
At  least  he  was  trying  to,  but  the  goat 
did  n't  seem  to  care  any  more  about  being  ' 
blessed  than  the  turkey  did.  She  was  stand- 
ing with  her  four  feet  braced,  pulling  back 
with  all  her  might,  while  Tonio  pulled  for- 
ward on  the  lasso  which  was  looped  over 
her  horns. 

Tonio  looked  very  angry.  He  called  to 
Tita,  "  Come  here  and  help  me  with  this  fool 
of  a  goat!  I  believe  the  devil  himself  has  got 
into  her  1  She  has  acted  just  like  this  all  the 
way  from  the  pasture  1 " 

Tita  ran  down  the  path  and  got  behind 
the  goat.  She  pushed  and  Tonio  pulled,  and 
by  and  by  they  got  her  as  far  as  the  fig  tree. 
Then  they  tied  her  to  a  branch,  and  while 
Dona  Teresa  milked  her,  the  Twins  went 
after  the  turkey  again. 

27 


Tonio  had  practiced  lassoing  bushes  and 
stumps  and  pigs  and  chickens  and  even  Tita 
herself,  ever  since  he  could  remember,  and 
you  may  be  sure  no  turkey  could  get  the 
best  of  him.  He  stood  down  in  the  yard  and 
whirled  his  lasso  in  great  circles  round  his 
head,  and  then  all  of  a  sudden  the  loop  flew 
into  the  air  and  dropped  right  over  the  tur- 
key on  the  ridge-pole,  and  tightened  around 
his  legs ! 

If  he  had  n't  had  wings  the  turkey  cer- 
tainly would  have  tumbled  off  the  roof.  As 
it  was,  he  spread  his  wings  and  flopped 
down,  and  Tita  took  him  into  the  cabin  and 
tied  him  to  the  third  leg  of  the  table.  There 
he  made  himself  very  disagreeable  to  the 
little  white  hen,  and  gobbled  angrily  at  the 
red  rooster,  and  even  pecked  at  Tita  herself 
when  she  came  near. 

"There! "  sighed  Dona  Teresa,  when  the 
turkey  was  safely  tied ;  "at  last  we  have  them 
all  together.  Now  we  will  make  them  all 

gay-" 

She  went  to  the  chest  which  held  all  their 
28 


precious  things,  took  out  three  rolls  of  tissue 
paper,  and  held  them  up  for  the  Twins  to 
see.  One  was  green,  one  was  white,  and  one 
was  red. 

"Look,"  said  she.  "These  are  all  Mex- 
ican animals,  so  I  thought  it  would  be  nice 
for  them  to  wear  the  Mexican  colors.  Come, 
my  angels,  and  I  will  show  you  how  to 
make  wreaths  and  streamers  and  fringes 
and  flowers  for  them  to  wear.  Our  creatures 
must  not  shame  us  by  looking  shabby  and 
dull  in  the  procession.  They  shall  be  as  gay 
as  the  best  of  them." 

For  a  long  time  they  all  three  worked,  and 
when  they  had  made  enough  decorations  for 
all  the  animals,  Dona  Teresa  brought  out 
another  surprise.  It  was  some  gilt  paint  and 
a  brush !  She  let  Tonio  gild  the  goat's  horns 
and  hoofs,  and  Tita  gilded  the  legs  and  feet 
of  the  little  white  hen. 

While  she  was  doing  it,  the  red  rooster 
stuck  his  bill  into  the  dish  and  swallowed 
two  great  big  bites  of  gold  paint  on  his  own 
account!  Dona  Teresa  saw  him  do  it. 

29 


4 '  If  he  is  n't  trying  to  gild  himself  on  the 
inside !  "  she  cried.  "  Did  you  ever  see  such 
sinful  pride !  "  And  then  she  made  him  swal- 
low a  large  piece  of  red  pepper  because  she 
was  afraid  the  paint  would  disagree  with 
him. 

The  red  rooster  seemed  depressed  for  a 
long  time  after  that;  but  whether  it  was 
because  of  the  paint,  or  the  pepper,  or  be- 
ing so  awfully  dressed  up,  I  cannot  say. 
His  bill  was  gilded  because  he  had  dipped 
it  in  the  gold  paint,  so  they  gilded  his  legs  to 
match.  Then  they  tied  a  white  tissue-paper 
wreath  with  long  streamers  around  his  neck. 


They  tied  a  red  one  on  the  little  white  hen. 
They  tried  to  decorate  the  turkey,  too,  but 
he  was  in  no  mood  for  it,  and  gobbled  and 
pecked  at  them  so  savagely  that  Dona 
Teresa  had  to  tie  up  his  head  in  a  rag! 

They  stuck  some  red  tissue-paper  flowers 
in  Tonto's  wreath,  and  tied  red  tissue-paper 
streamers  to  the  goat's  horns.  They  put  a 
green  ruff  around  the  cat's  neck,  and  a  red 
one  on  the  dog ;  but  the  dog  ran  at  once  to 
the  river  and  waded  in  and  got  it  all  wet,  and 
the  color  ran  out  and  dyed  his  coat,  and  the 
ruff  fell  off,  before  they  were  even  ready  to 
start. 

IV 

At  last  a  gong  sounded  from  the  big 
house. 

The  gong  was  the  signal  for  the  proces- 
sion to  start,  and  the  moment  they  heard  it, 
the  people  began  pouring  out  of  their  cabins, 
and  getting  their  animals  together  to  drive 
toward  the  place  where  the  blessing  was 
to  be. 

31 


Dona  Teresa  and  Tita  threw  their  rebozos 
over  their  heads,  and  Tonio  put  on  his  som- 
brero. Then  Dona  Teresa  untied  the  tur- 
key's legs  and  took  him  in  her  arms ;  and 
though  his  head  was  still  tied  in  the  cloth, 
he  gobbled  like  everything. 

Tita  took  the  little  white  hen  on  one  arm, 
and  her  kitten  on  the  other,  and  Tonio  led 
the  donkey,  with  Jasmin  following  behind. 

They  were  all  ready  to  start,  when  Dona 
Teresa  cried  out,  "  Upon  my  soul !  We 
nearly  forgot  the  goat!  Surely  she's  need- 
ing a  blessing  as  much  as  the  worst  of 
them." 

She  hurried  back  to  the  fig  tree  and  un- 
tied the  goat  with  one  hand,  because  she 
was  still  carrying  the  turkey  with  the  other. 
When  the  goat  felt  herself  free,  she  gave  a 
great  jump  and  nearly  jerked  the  rope  out 
.  of  Dona  Teresa's  hand;  then  she  went  gal- 
loping toward  the  gate  so  fast  that  poor 
Dona  Teresa  was  all  out  of  breath  keeping 
up  with  her. 

''Bless  my  soul,  but  that  goat  goes 
32 


gayly ! "  she  panted,  as  she  joined  the  Twins 
at  the  gate.  "  If  I  led  her  about  much  I 
should  have  no  chance  to  get  fat." 

Already  there  were  crowds  of  people  and 
animals  going  by.  It  was  a  wonderful  pro- 
cession. There  were  horses  and  cows  all 
gayly  decorated  with  garlands  and  colored 
streamers.  There  were  donkeys  and  pigs 

33 


and  guinea-fowls  and  cats  and  dogs  and 
birds  in  cages,  and  so  many  other  creatures 
that  it  looked  very  much  like  the  procession 
of  animals  going  into  Noah's  ark. 

Dona  Josefa,1  who  lived  in  a  hut  near  the 
river,  was  driving  two  ducks  and  two  white 
geese, --only  she  had  dyed  the  geese  a 
bright  purple,  —  and  Jose's  wife  had  painted 
stripes  of  red  clear  around  her  pig.  She  was 
having  a  dreadful  time  keeping  the  pig  in 
the  road,  for  all  the  little  boys,  and  all  the 
little  dogs  —  and  there  were  a  great  many 
of  both  -  -  frisked  and  gamboled  around  the 
procession  and  got  in  the  way,  and  made 
such  a  noise  that  it  is  no  wonder  the  crea- 
tures were  distracted  and  tried  to  run  away. 

v 

It  was  not  a  very  great  distance  to  the 
large  corrals  back  of  the  big  house  where 
the  people  were  to  meet,  and  as  they  drew 
near  the  grounds  Tonio  and  Tita  could  see 
Pancho  dashing  about  on  Pinto  after  stray 

1  Ho-sSf'-ah. 
34 


cows,  and  other  cowboys  rounding  up  the 
calves  and  putting  them  in  a  corral  by  them- 
selves. 

The  bulls  were  already  safely  shut  awa)r 
in  another  inclosure,  and  all  the  open  space 
around  the  corrals  was  filled  with  horses, 
and  donkeys,  and  sheep,  and  goats,  and 
dogs,  and  cats,  and  fowls  of  all  kinds,  all 
dressed  in  such  gay  colors  and  making  such 
a  medley  of  sounds  that  the  Fourth  of  July, 
fire-crackers  and  all,  would  have  seemed 

35 


like  Sunday  afternoon  beside  the  celebration 
of  San  Ramon's  Day  in  Mexico. 

Senior  Fernandez,  looking  very  grand  in 
his  black  velvet  suit  and  big  sombrero,  sat 
on  his  fine  horse  and  watched  the  scene. 
Beside  him,  on  their  own  horses,  were  Dona 
Paula,  his  wife,  and  pretty  Carmen,  their 
daughter. 

The  servants  of  the  big  house  were 
grouped  around  them,  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  people  passed  back  and  forth  among  the 
animals,  trying  to  make  them  keep  still  and 
behave  themselves  until  the  priest  should 
appear. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  priest  came 
out  of  his  house,  with  a  small  boy  beside 
him  carrying  a  basin  of  holy  water. 

Dona  Teresa  and  all  the  people  knelt  on 
the  ground  when  they  saw  him  coming. 
The  priest  walked  among  them  chanting  a 
prayer  and  sprinkling  drops  of  holy  water 
over  the  animals  and  over  the  people  too. 
Of  course  the  people  behaved  very  well,  but 
I  am  sorry  to  have  to  tell  you  that  when  he 

36 


felt  the  drops  of  water  fall  on  the  rag  that 
his  head  was  tied  up  in,  the  turkey  gobbled 
just  exactly  as  if  it  were  Tita  —  or  Dona 
Teresa  —  instead  of  the  priest! 

And  the  cat  stuck  up  her  tail  and  arched 
her  back,  in  a  most  impolite  way.  Perhaps 
that  was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  because  we 
all  know  that  cats  can  never  bear  water,  not 
even  holy  water. 

But  when  Tonto,  who  should  have  known 
better,  and  who  was  used  to  being  out  in 
the  rain  even,  stuck  his  nose  up  in  the  air 
and  let  out  a  " hee-haw,  hee-haw"  that  set 
every  other  donkey  in  the  crowd  hee-haw- 
ing too,  Dona  Teresa  felt  as  if  she  should 
die  of  mortification. 

Only  the  red  rooster,  the  little  white  hen, 
the  goat,  and  the  Twins  behaved  as  if  they 
had  had  any  bringing  up  at  all !  However, 
the  priest  did  n't  seem  to  mind  it.  He  went 
in  and  out  among  the  people,  sprinkling  the 
water  and  chanting  his  prayer  until  the  basin 
was  empty.  Then  he  pronounced  the  bless- 
ing. 

37 


VI 

When  he  had  finished,  the  people  drove 
their  creatures  back  to  their  homes,  or  to 
the  fields. 

Pancho  came  riding  along  and  took  Tita 
and  the  white  hen  up  on  Pinto's  back  with 
him.  Tonio  rode  Tonto  and  carried  the 
rooster.  Tita  had  to  put  the  cat  down  to  get 
up  on  the  horse,  and  when  Tonio's  dog  saw 
her  he  barked  at  her,  and  she  ran  just  as  fast 
as  she  could  and  got  to  the  cabin  and  up  on 
the  roof  out  of  reach. 

Dona  Teresa  walked  along  with  Dona 
Josefa,  and  talked  with  her  about  her  rheu- 
matism and  about  how  badly  the  animals 
behaved,  and  how  handsome  Dona  Josefa's 
purple  geese  were,  until  she  turned  in  at 
their  own  gate. 

When  she  was  in  their  own  yard  once 
more,  she  set  the  turkey  down  and  untied 
his  head.  Tonio  let  the  rooster  go,  and  Tita 
set  the  little  white  hen  free,  and  they  all  three 
ran  under  Tonto's  shed  as  if  they  were  afraid 

38 


they  might  get  blessed  again  if  they  stayed 
where  they  could  easily  be  caught.  And  they 
never  came  out  until  they  had  torn  the  tissue 
paper  all  to  pieces  and  left  it  lying  on  the 
ground. 

Tonio  got  the  goat  back  to  pasture  by 
39 


walking  in  front  of  her,  holding  a  carrot  just 
out  of  reach,  and  Pancho  took  Pinto  and  the 
donkey  down  to  the  river  for  a  drink,  while 
Tita  and  her  mother  went  into  the  cabin  to 
get  the  second  breakfast  ready.  When  peo- 
ple get  up  so  very  early  they  need  two  break- 
fasts. 

Dona  Teresa  was  just  patting  the  meal 
into  cakes  with  her  hands  and  cooking  them 
over  the  brasero,  when  Pancho  came  in  the 
cabin  door  with  dreadful  red  streams  run- 
ning down  his  head  and  face  and  over  his 
white  cotton  clothes! 

When  Dona  Teresa  saw  him,  she 
screamed  and  flew  to  his  side.  "What  is 
it,  my  Pancho?"  she  cried.  "You  are  hurt 
—  you  are  killed,  my  angel !  Oh,  what  has 
happened  ?  " 

She  asked  so  many  questions  and  poured 
out  so  many  words  that  Pancho  could  n't 
get  one  in  edgewise;  so  he  just  took  off  his 
hat,  and  there  was  the  dish  of  chile  sauce 
and  tortillas  broken  all  to  bits,  and  the  chile 
sauce  spilled  all  over  his  face  and  clothes! 

40 


"It  was  that  foolish  Tonto  that  did 
it,"  he  said,  when  he  could  say  anything 
at  all.  "I  was  just  putting  him  back  in 
his  shed  when  he  cried,  'Hee-haw,'  and 
let  fly  with  both  hind  feet  at  once  and  one 
of  them  just  grazed  my  head,  and  broke 
the  dish." 

Dona  Teresa  sat  down  heavily  with  her 
hand  on  her  heart.  "If  anything  had  hap- 
pened to  you,  my  rose,  my  angel,"  she  said, 
"I  should  have  died  of  sorrow!  Tonto  is 
indeed  a  very  careless  beast.  It  would  seem 
as  if  the  padrecito's  blessing  might  have  put 
more  sense  into  him.  It  must  be  the  will  of 
God  that  there  should  be  a  great  deal  of 
foolishness  in  the  world,  but  without  doubt 
donkeys  and  goats  have  more  than  their 
share." 

Just  then  she  smelled  the  tortillas  burn- 
ing and  ran  back  to  attend  to  them,  while 
Pancho  washed  himself  at  the  trough,  and 
mopped  the  chile  sauce  off  his  clothes. 

In  a  little  while  the  Twins  and  their  fa- 
ther and  mother  were  all  sitting  about  on 

41 


the  stones  under  the  fig  tree,  eating  their 
second  breakfast.  And  when  they  had  all 
had  every  bit  they  could  hold,  it  was  almost 
noon. 


Ill 

THE  PARTY 


Ill 

THE  PARTY 

i 

EARLY  that  evening,  when  Pancho  had 
rounded  up  the  cows  and  taken  them  back 
again  to  pasture,  and  the  goat  had  been 
milked,  the  animals  fed,  and  supper  eaten 
and  cleared  away,  the  Twins  and  their  father 
and  mother  sat  down  together  outside  their 
cabin  door. 

The  moon  had  risen  and  was  shining 
so  brightly  that  it  made  beautiful  patterned 
shadows  under  the  fig  tree.  There  were 
pleasant  evening  sounds  all  about.  Some- 
times it  was  the  hoot  of  an  owl  or  the  chirp 
of  a  cricket,  but  oftener  it  was  the  sound  of 
laughter  and  of  children's  voices  from  the 
huts  near  by. 

The  red  rooster,  the  turkey,  and  the  hens 
were  all  asleep  in  the  fig  tree.  Tita  could  see 

45 


their  bunchy  shadows  among  the  shadows 
of  the  leaves.  The  cat  was  away  hunting  for 
field-mice.  Jasmin  sat  beside  Tonio,  with 
his  tongue  hanging  out,  and  everything  was 
very  quiet  and  peaceful. 

Then  suddenly,  quite  far  away,  they  heard 
a  faint  tinkling  sound.  "  Ting-a-ling-ling ; 
ting-a-ling-ling,"  it  went,  and  then  there  was 
a  voice  singing :  - 

"  Crown  of  the  high  hill 
That  with  your  cool  shadow 
Gives  me  life, 
Where  is  my  beloved  ? 
Oh,  beautiful  hill, 
Where  dwells  my  love  ? 
If  I  am  sleeping, 
I  'm  dreaming  of  thee ; 
If  I  am  waking,  thee  only  I  see." 

The  voice  came  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
children's  voices  began  to  join  in  the  sing- 
ing, and  soon  Tonio  and  Tita  could  see  dark 
forms  moving  in  the  moonlight.  There  was 
one  tall  figure,  and  swarming  around  it  there 
were  ever  so  many  short  ones. 

"It's  Jose  with  his  guitar!"  cried  the 
46 


Twins,  and  they  flew  out  to  meet  him. 
Dona  Teresa  and  Pancho  came  too. 

"  God  give  you  good  evening,"  they  all 
cried  out  to  each  other  when  they  met;  and 
then  Jose  said,  "  Have  you  plenty  of  sweet 
potatoes,  Dona  Teresa?  We  have  come  with 
our  dishes  and  our  pennies." 

"Yes," laughed  DonaTeresa.  "I thought 
you  might  come  to-night  and  I  knew  your 
sweet  tooth,  Jose  !  And  all  these  little  ones, 
have  they  each  got  a  sweet  tooth  too?" 

"  Oh  yes,  Dona  Teresa,  please  cook  us 
some  sweet  potatoes,  won't  you  ?  "  the  chil- 
dren begged.  They  held  up  their  empty 
dishes. 

"Well,  then,  come  in,  all  of  you,"  said 
DonaTeresa,  "and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do." 

She  hurried  back  to  the  cabin.  Pancho 
went  with  her,  and  Jose  and  the  Twins  and 
all  the  other  children  came  trooping  after 
them  and  swarmed  around  the  cabin  door. 

Pancho  made  a  little  brasero  right  in  the 
middle  of  the  open  space  beside  the  fig  tree. 
He  made  it  of  stones,  and  built  a  fire  in  it. 

47 


While  he  was  doing  that,  Dona  Teresa  got 
her  sweet  potatoes  ready  to  cook,  and  when 
she  came  out  with  the  cooking-dish  and  a 
jug  of  syrup  in  her  hands,  the  children  set 
up  a  shout  of  joy. 

"  Now  sit  down,  all  of  you,"  commanded 
Dona  Teresa,  as  she  knelt  beside  the  bra- 
sero  and  poured  the  syrup  into  the  cooking- 

48 


pan,  "  It  will  take  some  time  to  cook  enough 
for  every  one,  and  if  you  are  in  too  much 
of  a  hurry  you  may  burn  your  fingers  and 
your  tongue.  Jose,  you  tell  us  a  story  while 
we  are  waiting." 

So  they  all  sat  down  in  a  circle  around 
Dona  Teresa  with  Jose  opposite  her,  and 
the  fire  flickered  in  the  brasero,  and  lighted 
up  all  the  eager  brown  faces  and  all  the 
bright  black  eyes,  as  they  watched  Dona 
Teresa's  cooking-pan. 

ii 

Then  Jose  told  the  story  of  Br'er  Rabbit 
arid  the  Tar  Baby;  and  after  that  he  told 
how  Br'er  Rabbit  made  a  riding-horse  out 
of  Br'er  Fox ;  and  when  he  had  finished,  the 
sweet  potatoes  were  ready. 

"Who  shall  have  the  first  piece?"  asked 
Dona  Teresa,  holding  up  a  nice  brown  slice. 

"Jose,  Jose,"  cried  all  the  children. 

Jose  took  out  his  penny  and  gave  it  to 
Dona  Teresa,  and  held  out  his  dish.  She 
took  up  a  big  piece  of  sweet  potato  on  the 

49 


end  of  a  pointed  stick.  It  was  almost  safely 
landed  in  Jose's  dish,  when  suddenly  there 
was  a  great  flapping  of  wings  and  a  loud 
"Cock-a-doodle-doo,"  right  behind  Jose! 

The  red  rooster  had  opened  his  eyes,  and 
when  he  saw  the  glow  of  the  fire,  he  thought 
it  must  be  morning.  So  he  crowed  at  once, 
and  then  flew  right  down  off  his  perch,  and 
before  any  one  knew  what  he  was  after  or 
could  stop  him,  he  had  snatched  Jose's  can- 
died sweet  potato  off  the  end  of  Dona  Te- 
resa's stick,  and  was  running  away  with  it 
as  fast  as  he  could  go ! 

"Thanks  be  to  God,"  said  Jose,  "that 
piece  was  still  very  hot!" 

The  red  rooster  soon  found  that  out  for 
himself.  He  was  so  afraid  that  somebody 
would  get  his  morsel  away  from  him  that  he 
swallowed  it  whole,  boiling  hot  syrup  and  all ! 
He  thought  it  was  worse  than  the  red  pepper 
and  the  gold  paint  he  had  taken  that  morning. 

He  opened  his  bill  wide  and  squawked 
with  pain,  and  his  veyes  looked  wild.  The 
children  rolled  on  the  ground  with  laughter. 

5° 


The  last  they  saw  of  the  red  rooster  he  was 
running  to  the  back  of  the  house,  where  a 
dish  of  water  was  kept  for  the  chickens;  and 
it  is  perfectly  true  that  for  three  days  after 
that  he  could  hardly  crow  at  all! 

Dona  Teresa  was  dreadfully  ashamed  of 
the  red  rooster.  She  apologized  and  gave 
Jose  another  piece  of  sweet  potato  at  once, 
and  then  she  passed  out  more  pieces  to  the 
children,  and  said :  - 

"Now  mind  you  don't  behave  like  the 
rooster !  You  see  what  he  got  for  being 
greedy." 


The  children  sucked  their  pieces  slowly, 
so  as  to  make  them  last  a  long  time,  and 
while  they  got  themselves  all  sticky  with 
syrup,  Jose  told  them  the  story  of  Cinder- 
ella and  her  glass  slippers  and  her  pumpkin 
coach,  and  two  ghost  stories. 

in 

"Where  did  you  learn  so  many  beauti- 
ful stories,  Jose  ?  "  asked  Tonio  when  he  had 
finished  the  last  one.  "Did  you  read  them 
out  of  a  book?"  (You  see  Tonio  and  Tita 
and  some  of  the  older  children  went  to 
school  and  were  beginning  to  read  a  little.) 

Jose  shook  his  head.  "No,"  he  said,  "I 
did  n't  read  them  out  of  books.  I  never  had 
a  chance  to  go  to  school  when  I  was  a  boy. 
I  tell  you  these  stories  just  as  they  were  told 
to  me  by  my  mother  when  I  was  as  small 
as  you  are.  And  she  could  n't  read  either, 
so  somebody  must  have  told  them  to  her. 
Not  everything  comes  from  books,  you 
sec." 

"  Yes,"  said  Dona  Teresa.  "  I  heard  them 
5* 


from  my  mother  when  I  was  a  child,  and 
she  could  n't  read  any  more  than  Pancho 
and  I  can.  But  with  these  children  here  it 
will  be  different.  They  can  get  stories  from 
you,  and  out  of  the  books  too.  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  have  learning,  though  a  peon  can 
get  along  with  very  little  of  it,  praise 
God." 

Up  to  this  time  Pancho  had  not  said  a 
single  word.  He  had  brought  sticks  for  the 
fire  and  had  listened  silently  to  the  stories ; 
but  now  he  spoke. 

"When  the  peons  get  enough  learning, 
they  will  learn  not  to  be  peons  at  all,"  he 
said. 

"But  whatever  will  they  be  then?" 
gasped  Dona  Teresa.  "Surely  they  must 
be  whatever  the  good  God  made  them,  and 
if  they  are  born  peons  — 

She  stopped  and  looked  a  little  alarmed, 
as  if  she  thought  perhaps  after  all  it  might 
be  as  well  for  Tonio  and  Tita  to  be  like 
most  of  the  people  she  knew  —  quite  un- 
able to  read  or  write. 

53 


She  crossed  herself,  and  snatched  Tita  to 
her  breast. 

"  You  shall  not  learn  enough  to  make  you 
fly  away  from  the  nest,  my  bird  !  "  she  said. 

Then  Pancho  spoke  again.  "With  girls 
it  does  not  matter,"  he  said.  "  Girls  do  not 
need  to  know  any  thing  but  how  to  grind  corn 
and  make  tortillas,  and  mind  the  babies - 
that  is  what  girls  are  for.  But  boys  -  -  boys 
will  be  men  and  -  But  here  it  seemed  to 
occur  to  him  that  perhaps  he  was  saying 
too  much,  and  he  became  silent  again. 

Jose  had  listened  thoughtfully,  and  when 
Pancho  finished  he  sighed  a  little  and  made 
a  soft  little  "ting-ting-a-ting-ting"  on  his 
guitar-strings.  Then  he  jumped  up  and  be- 
gan to  sing  and  dance,  playing  the  guitar 
all  the  while.  It  was  a  song  about  the  little 
dwarfs,  and  the  children  loved  it. 

"  Oh,  how  pretty  are  the  dwarfs, 
The  little  ones,  the  Mexicans  ! 
Out  comes  the  pretty  one, 
Out  comes  the  ugly  one, 
Out  comes  the  dwarf  with  his  jacket  of  skin." 

54 


Jose  sang, —  and  every  time  he  came  to 
the  words,  - 

"  Out  comes  the  little  one, 
Out  comes  the  pretty  one," 

he  stooped  down  as  he  danced  and  made 
himself  look  as  much  like  a  dwarf  as  he 
possibly  could. 

When  he  had  finished  the  Dwarf  Song, 
Jose  tucked  his  guitar  under  his  arm,  and 
bowed  politely  to  Dona  Teresa  and  Pancho. 

"  Adios  !  "  he  said.    "  May  you  rest  well." 

"  Adios,  adios !  "  shouted  all  the  children. 

And  Pancho  and  Dona  Teresa  and  the 
Twins  replied:  "Adios  I  God  give  you  sweet 
sleep." 

Then  Jose  and  the  children  went  away, 
and  the  tinkle  of  the  guitar  grew  fainter  and 
fainter  in  the  distance.  When  they  could  no 
longer  hear  it,  Dona  Teresa  went  into  the 
cabin,  unrolled  the  mats,  and  laid  out  the 
pillows,  arid  soon  the  Twins  and  their  father 
and  mother  were  all  sound  asleep  on  their 
hard  beds. 

55 


When  at  last  everything  was  quiet,  the 
red  rooster  came  stepping  round  from  be- 
hind the  house,  and  looked  at  the  dying 
coals  of  the  fire  as  if  he  wondered  whether 
they  were  good  to  eat.  He  seemed  to  think 
it  best  not  to  risk  it,  however,  for  he  flew  up 
into  the  fig  tree  once  more  and  settled  him- 
self for  the  night. 


IV 

TONIC'S  BAD  DAY 


IV 
TONIC'S  BAD  DAY 

i 

IT  is  hard  for  us  to  understand  how  they 
tell  what  season  it  is  in  a  country  like  Mex- 
ico, where  there  is  no  winter,  and  no  snow 
except  on  the  tops  of  high  mountains,  and 
where  flowers  bloom  all  the  year  round. 

Tonio  and  Tita  can  tell  pretty  well  by  the 
way  they  go  to  school.  During  the  very  hot 
dry  weather  of  April  and  May  there  is  vaca- 
tion. In  June,  when  the  rainy  season  be- 
gins, school  opens  again.  Then,  though  the 
rain  pours  down  during  some  part  of  every 
day  or  night,  in  between  times  the  sky  is  so 
blue,  and  the  sunshine  so  bright,  and  the  air 
so  sweet,  that  the  Twins  like  the  rainy  sea-  , 
son  really  better  than  the  dry. 

If  you  should  pass  the  open  door  of  their 
school  some  day  when  it  is  in  session,  you 

59 


would  hear  a  perfect  Babel  of  voices  all 
talking  at  once  and  saying  such  things  as 
this,  --only  they  would  say  them  in  Span- 
ish instead  of  English,  — 

"The  cat  sees  the  rat.  Run,  rat,  run. 
Two  times  six  is  thirteen,  two  times  seven 
is  fifteen  "  (I  hope  you  'd  know  at  once  that 
that  was  wrong).  "  Mexico  is  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  United  States  of  America, 
on  the  east  by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  on  the 
west  by  the  Pacific  Ocean,  on  the  .  .  . 
Cortez  conquered  Mexico  in  1519  and 
brought  the  holy  Catholic  religion  to  Mex- 
ico. The  Church  is  .  .  ." 

Then  perhaps  you  would  clap  your  hands 
on  your  ears  and  think  the  whole  school  had 
gone  crazy,  but  it  would  only  mean  that  in 
Mexico  the  children  all  study  aloud.  The 
sixth  grade  is  as  high  as  any  one  ever  goes, 
and  most  of  them  stop  at  the  fourth. 

Senor  Fernandez  thinks  that  is  learning 
enough  for  any  peon,  and  as  it  is  his  school, 
and  his  teacher,  and  his  land,  of  course 
things  have  to  be  as  he  says. 

60 


Pancho  asked  the  priest  about  it  one  day. 
He  said :  "  I  should  like  to  have  Tonio  get 
as  much  learning  as  he  can.  Learning  must 
be  a  great  thing.  All  the  rich  and  powerful 
people  seem  to  have  it.  Perhaps  that  is  what 
makes  them  rich  and  powerful." 

But  the  priest  shook  his  head  and  said, 
"  Tonio  needs  only  to  know  how  to  be  good, 
and  obey  the  Church,  and  to  read  and  write 
and  count  a  little.  More  knowledge  than 
that  would  make  him  unhappy  and  discon- 
tented with  his  lot.  You  do  not  wish  to  make 
him  unhappy.  Contentment  with  godliness 
is  great  gain.  Is  it  not  so,  my  son  ?  " 

The  priest  called  everybody,  even  Sefior 
Fernandez  himself,  •"  my  son,"  unless  he 
was  speaking  to  a  girl  or  a  woman,  and  then 
he  said,  "my  daughter." 

Pancho  scratched  his  head  as  if  he  were 
very  much  puzzled  by  a  good  many  things 
in  this  world,  but  he  only  said,  "  Yes,  little 
father,"  very  humbly,  and  went  away  to 
mend  the  gate  of  the  calves'  corral. 


61 


II 

I  am  not  going  to  tell  you  very  much  about 
the  Twins'  school,  because  the  Twins  did  n't 
care  so  very  much  about  it  themselves. 

But  I  am  going  to  tell  you  about  one 
particular  day,  because  that  day  a  great  deal 
happened  to  Tonio.  Some  of  it  was  n't  at  all 
pleasant,  but  you  will  not  be  surprised  at 
that  when  I  explain  the  reason  why. 

A  good  many  months  had  passed  by  since 
San  Ramon's  Day,  and  it  was  a  bright  beau- 
tiful spring  morning,  when  the  Twins  left 
their  little  adobe  hut  to  go  to  school. 

They  had  to  be  there  at  half  past  eight, 
and  as  the  schoolhouse  was  some  distance 
down  the  road  and  there  were  a  great  many 
interesting  things  on  the  way,  they  started 
rather  early. 

Dona  Teresa  gave  them  two  tortillas 
apiece,  rolled  up  with  beans  inside,  to  eat 
at  recess,  and  Tonio  wrapped  them  in  a  cloth 
and  carried  them  in  his  hat  just  the  way 
Pancho  carried  his  lunch,  only  there  was  no 

62 


chile  sauce,  this  time.  Dona  Teresa  waved 
good-bye  to  them  from  the  trough  where 
she  was  grinding  her  corn. 

The  air  was  full  of  the  sweet  odor  of 
honeysuckle  blossoms,  and  the  roadsides 
were  gay  with  flowers,  as  the  Twins  walked 
along.  The  birds  were  flying  about  getting 
material  for  their  nests,  and  singing  as  if 
they  would  split  their  little  throats. 

Sheep  were  grazing  peacefully  in  a  pas- 
ture beside  the  road,  with  their  lambs  gam- 
boling about  them.  In  a  field  beyond,  the 
goats  were  leaping  up  in  the  air  and  butting 
playfully  at  each  other,  as  if  the  lovely  day 
made  them  feel  lively  too.  Calves  were 
bleating  in  the  corrals,  and  away  off  on  the 
distant  hillside  the  children  could  see  cows 
moving  about,  and  an  occasional  flash  of  red 
when  a  vaquero  rode  along,  his  bright  ser- 
ape  flying  in  the  sun. 

Farther  away  there  were  blue,  blue  moun- 
tain-peaks crowned  with  glistening  snow, 
and  from  one  of  them  a  faint  streak  of  white 
smoke  rose  against  the  blue  of  the  sky.  It 

63 


was  a  beautiful  morning  in  a  beautiful  world 
where  it  seemed  as  if  every  one  was  meant 
to  be  happy  and  good. 

The  school  was  not  far  from  the  gate 
where  Jose,  the  gate-keeper,  sat  all  day, 
waiting  to  open  and  close  the  gate  for  cow- 
boys as  they  drove  the  cattle  through. 

The  Twins  stopped  to  speak  to  Jose,  and 
64 


just  then  on  a  stone  right  beside  the  gate 
Tonio  saw  a  little  green  lizard  taking  a  sun 
bath.  He  was  about  six  inches  long  and  he 
looked  like  a  tiny  alligator. 

Tonio  crept  up  behind  him  very  quietly 
and  as  quick  as  a  flash  caught  him  by  the  tail. 
Just  then  the  teacher  rang  the  bell,  and  the 
Twins  ran  along  to  join  the  other  children 
at  the  schoolhouse  door,  but  not  one  of  them, 
not  even  Tita  herself,  knew  that  Tonio  had 
that  green  lizard  in  his  pocket! 

Tonio  did  n't  wear  any  clothes  except  a 
thin  white  cotton  suit,  and  he  could  feel  the 
lizard  squirming  round  in  his  pocket.  Tonio 
did  n't  like  tickling,  and  the  lizard  tickled 
like  everything. 

As  they  came  into  the  schoolroom,  the 
boys  took  off  their  hats  and  said,  "God  give 
you  good  day,"  to  the  Senor  Maestro '- 
that  is  what  they  called  the  teacher. 

Then  they  hung  their  hats  on  nails  in  the 
wall,  while  the  girls  curtsied  to  the  teacher 
and  went  to  their  seats. 

1  Mah-*s'tr6. 
65 


When  they  were  all  in  their  places  and 
quiet,  the  Senor  Maestro  stood  up  in  front 
^f  the  school,  and  raised  his  hand.  At  once 

• 

^1  the  children  knelt  down  beside  their  seats. 
The  Maestro  knelt  too,  put  his  hands  to- 
gether, bowed  his  head,  and  said  a  prayer. 
He  was  right  in  the  middle  of  the  prayer 
when  the  lizard  tickled  so  awfully  in  Tonio's 
pocket  that  Tonio, --I  really  hate  to  have 
to  tell  it,  but  facts  are  facts,  -  -  Tonio  laughed 
—  aloud  1 

Then  he  was  so  scared,  and  so  afraid  he 
would  laugh  again  if  the  lizard  kept  on  tick- 
ling, that  he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and 
took  it  out.  Kneeling  in  front  of  Tonio  was 
a  boy  named  Pablo,  and  the  bare  soles  of 
his  feet  were  turned  up  in  such  a  way  that 
Tonio  just  could  n't  help  dropping  the  lizard 
on  to  them. 

The  lizard  ran  right  up  Pablo's  leg,  inside 
his  cotton  trousers,  and  Pablo  let  out  a  yell 
like  a  wild  Indian  on  the  warpath,  and  began 
to  act  as  if  he  had  gone  crazy. 

He  jumped  up  and  danced  about  clutch- 
66 


ing  his  clothes,  and  screaming!  The  Senor 
Maestro  and  the  children  were  perfectly 
amazed.  They  could  n't  think  what  ailed 
Pablo  until,  all  of  a  sudden,  the  green  lizard 
dropped  on  the  floor  out  of  his  sleeve  and 
scuttled  as  fast  as  it  could  toward  the  girls' 
side  of  the  room.  Then  the  girls  screamed 
and  stood  on  their  seats  until  the  lizard  got 
out  of  sight. 

Nobody  knew  where  it  had  gone,  until 
the  Senor  Maestro  suddenly  fished  it  out  of 


a  chink  in  the  adobe  wall  and  held  it  up  by 
the  tail. 

"  Who  brought  this  lizard  into  the  school- 
room? "  he  asked. 

Tonio  did  n't  have  to  say  a  word.  I  don't 
know  how  they  could  be  so  sure  of  it,  but  all 
the  children  pointed  their  fingers  at  Tonio 
and  said,  "  He  did." 

The  Maestro  said  very  sternly  to  Tonio, 
"Go  out  to  the  willow  tree  and  bring  me  a 
strong  switch."  Tonio  went. 

He  went  very  slowly  and  came  back  with 
the  willow  switch  more  slowly  still. 

I  think  you  can  guess  what  happened 
next  -  - 1  hope  you  can,  for  I  really  cannot 
bear  to  tell  you  about  it.  When  it  was  over 
Tonio  was  sent  home,  while  all  the  other 
children  sat  straight  up  in  their  seats,  look- 
ing so  hard  at  their  books  that  they  were 
almost  cross-eyed,  and  studying  their  les- 
sons at  the  top  of  their  lungs. 

If  you  had  asked  them  then,  they  would 
every  one  have  told  you  that  they  con- 
sidered it  very  wrong  to  bring  lizards  to 

68 


school,   and  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  they  ever  think  of  doing  such  a  thing. 

in 

Tonio  walked  slowly  down  the  road  to- 
ward his  home.  He  did  n't  cry,  but  he 
looked  as  if  he  wished  he  could  just  come 
across  somebody  else  who  was  doing  some- 
thing wrong !  He  'd  like  to  teach  him  better. 

When  Jose  saw  him,  he  called  out  to  him, 
"Is  school  out?" 

"No,"  said  Tonio.  "  I  am,"  and  he  never 
said  another  word  to  Jose. 

69 


He  had  the  willow  switch  in  his  hand. 
The  Maestro  had  given  it  to  him,  "  to  re- 
member him  by,"  he  said.  Tonio  felt  pretty 
sure  he  could  remember  him  without  it,  but 
he  switched  the  weeds  beside  the  road  with 
it  as  he  walked  along,  and  there  was  some 
comfort  in  that. 

At  last  he  remembered  that  he  had  a 
luncheon  in  the  crown  of  his  hat.  He  sat 
down  beside  the  road  and  ate  all  four  tor- 
tillas and  every  single  bean.  Then  he  went 
home.  His  mother  was  not  in  the  house 
when  he  got  there. 

Jasmin  came  frisking  up  to  Tonio  and 
jumped  about  him  and  licked  his  hand.  It 
seemed  strange  to  Tonio  that  even  a  dog 
could  be  cheerful  in  such  a  miserable  world. 
He  took  his  lasso  down  from  the  wall  and 
went  out  again  with  Jasmin. 

The  cat  was  lying  back  of  the  house  in 
the  sunshine  asleep.  Tonio  pointed  her  out 
to  Jasmin  and  he  sent  her  up  the  fig  tree  in 
a  hurry.  Then  Jasmin  chased  the  hens.  He 
drove  the  red  rooster  right  in  among  the 

70 


beehives,  and  when  the  bees  came  out  to 
see  what  was  the  matter  they  chased  Jasmin 
instead  of  the  rooster,  and  stung  him  on  the 
nose.  Jasmin  ran  away  yelping  to  dig  his 
nose  in  the  dirt,  and  Tonio  went  on  by  him- 
self through  the  woods. 

Soon  he  came  to  the  stepping-stones  that 
led  across  the  river  to  the  goat-pasture, 
and  there  he  met  Jose's  son  and  another 
boy. 

"  Hello,  there  !  Where  are  you  going?  " 
Tonio  called  to  them. 

"We  aren't  going;  we've  been,"  said 
Jose's  son,  whose  name  was  Juan.1  The 
other  boy's  name  was  Ignacio.2 

"  Well,  where  have  you  been  then  ?  "  said 
Tonio. 

"  Down  to  the  lake  hunting  crabs.  We 
did  n't  find  any,"  they  said. 

You  see  there  is  no  law  in  Mexico  that 
every  child  must  go  to  school,  and  the  par- 
ents of  Juan  and  Ignacio  did  n't  make  them 
go  either,  so  they  often  stayed  away. 

1  Hwahn.  *  Ig-nah'sI-5. 

71 


"What's  the  reason  you're  not  in 
school?"  Juan  said  to  Tonio.  "I  thought 
your  father  always  made  you  go." 

"Well,"  said  Tonio,  "I---I--hum  — 
well  -  -  I  thought  I  would  rather  play  bull- 
fight up  in  the  pasture !  I  Ve  got  an  old  goat 
up  there  trained  so  he  '11  butt  every  time  he 
sees  me.  Come  along." 

The  three  boys  crossed  on  the  stepping- 
stones,  and  ran  up  the  hill  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river  to  the  goat-pasture. 

There  was  a  growing  hedge  of  cactus 
plants  around  the  goat-pasture.  This  kind 
of  cactus  grows  straight  up  in  tall,  round 
spikes  about  as  large  around  as  a  boy's  leg, 
and  higher  than  a  man's  head.  The  spikes 
are  covered  with  long,  stiff  spines  that  stick 
straight  out  and  prick  like  everything  if  you 
run  into  them.  The  only  way  to  get  through 
such  a  fence  is  to  go  to  the  gate,  so  the 
boys  ran  along  until  they  came  to  some 
bars.  They  opened  the  bars  (and  forgot 
to  put  them  up  again)  and  went  into  the 
pasture. 

72 


IV 

When  they  got  inside  the  pasture  the  boys 
looked  about  for  the  goat.  This  goat  was 
quite  a  savage  one,  and  was  kept  all  by  him- 
self in  a  small  field.   It  did  not  take  them 
long  to  find  him.   He  was  grazing  quietly  in 
the  shadow  of  a  mesquite1  tree.  As  Tonio 
had  the  only  lasso  there  was,  he  knew  he 
1  Mes'keet. 
73 


could  have  the  game  all  his  own  way,  so  he 
said,  — 

"  I  '11  take  the  first  turn  with  the  lasso, 
Ignacio ;  you  wave  your  red  scrape  at  the 
goat  while  Juan  stirs  him  up  from  behind." 

The  goat  had  his  head  down,  eating  grass, 
and  did  not  notice  the  boys  until  suddenly 
Juan  split  the  air  behind  him  with  a  fearful 
roar  and  prodded  his  legs  with  a  stick. 

"  Ah,  Toro ! ' '  roared  Juan  at  the  top  of  his 
lungs  just  as  he  had  heard  the  matadors  do 
at  a  real  bull-fight,  and  at  the  same  moment 
Ignacio  shook  out  his  red  serape. 

The  goat  looked  up,  saw  Tonio  and  the 
red  serape,  and  immediately  stood  up  on 
his  hind  legs.  Then  he  came  down  with  a 
thump  on  his  fore  feet,  put  his  head  down, 
and  ran  at  Ignacio  like  a  bullet  from  a  gun. 
Ignacio  waved  the  serape  and  shouted,  and 
when  the  goat  got  very  near,  he  jumped  to 
one  side  as  he  had  seen  the  matadors  do, 
and  the  goat  butted  with  all  his  might  right 
into  the  serape. 

When  he  struck  the  serape  his  horn  went 
74 


s 


through  one  end  of  it.  Ignacio  had  hold  of 
the  other  end  and  before  he  knew  what  had 
happened  he  was  rolling  backward  down  a 
little  slope  into  a  pool  of  water  which  was 
the  goat's  drinking-place. 

Meanwhile  the  goat  went  bounding  about 
75 


the  pasture  with  the  scrape  hanging  from 
one  horn.  Every  few  minutes  he  would 
stamp  on  it  and  paw  it  with  his  fore  feet. 
Ignacio  picked  himself  out  of  the  water,  and 
then  all  three  boys  began  a  wild  chase  to 
get  back  the  serape.  It  would  be  a  sad  day 
for  Ignacio  if  he  went  home  without  it. 

Scrapes  are  the  most  valuable  things  there 
are  in  a  peon's  hut,  and  were  never  intended 
to  be  used  by  goats  in  this  way. 

Tonio  could  n't  lasso  the  goat  because 
the  serape  covered  his  horns,  so  the  boys 
all  tried  to  snatch  off  the  serape  as  the  goat 
went  galloping  past,  but  every  time  they 
tried  it  the  goat  butted  at  them,  and  they 
had  to  run  for  their  lives. 

At  last  the  goat  stood  up  on  his  hind  legs 
and  came  down  on  the  serape  so  hard  that 
there  was  a  dreadful  tearing  sound,  and  there 
was  the  serape  torn  clear  in  two  and  lying 
on  the  ground  1 

When  his  horns  were  free,  the  goat  looked 
around  for  the  boys.  He  was  a  very  mad 
goat,  and  when  he  saw  them  he  went  for 

76 


them  like  an  express  train.  Juan  ran  one 
way,  and  Ignacio  ran  the  other.  Tonio  was 
a  naughty  boy,  but  he  was  n't  a  coward. 
He  kept  his  lasso  whirling  over  his  head, 
and  as  the  goat  came  by,  out  flew  the  loop 
and  dropped  over  his  horns! 

The  goat  was  much  stronger  than  he,  but 
Tonio  braced  back  with  all  his  might  and 
held  on  to  the  rope.  Then  began  a  wild 
dance!  The  goat  went  bounding  around 
the  pasture  with  Tonio  at  the  other  end  of 
the  rope  bouncing  after  him. 

'It  was  a  sight  to  see,  and  Juan,  and 
Ignacio  were  not  the  only  ones  who  saw  it 
either. 


Sefior  Fernandez  was  going  by  on  his 
fine  black  horse,  and  when  he  heard  the 
yells  of  the  boys  he  rode  up  to  the  pasture 
to  see  what  was  going  on.  He  was  right 
beside  the  bars  when  the  goat  and  Tonio 
came  tearing  through. 

The  goat  jumped  over  the  bars  that  the 
77 


boys  had  left  down,  but  Tonio  caught  his 
foot  and  fell  down,  and  the  goat  jerked  the 
rope  out  of  his  hands  and  went  careering 
off  over  the  fields  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 

Tonio  sat  up  all  out  of  breath  and  looked 
at  Senor  Fernandez.  Senor  Fernandez 
looked  at  Tonio.  Juan  and  Ignacio  were 
nowhere  to  be  seen.  They  were  behind 
bushes  in  the  goat-pasture,  and  they  were 
both  very  badly  scared. 

"Well,"  said  Senor  Fernandez  at  last, 
"what  have  you  been  doing?" 

"Just  playing  bull-fight  a  little,"  Tonio 
answered  in  a  very  small  voice. 

"  Did  n't  you  know  that  was  my  goat?" 
said  Senor  Fernandez  severely.  "What 
business  have  you  driving  it  mad  like  that? 
Get  up." 

Tonio  got  up.  He  was  stiff  and  sore  all 
over.  Moreover,  his  hands  were  all  skinned 
inside,  where  the  rope  had  pulled  through. 

"Were  you  alone?"  asked  Senor  Fer- 
nandez. 

"Not  —  very-     '  stammered  Tonio. 

78 


"Where  are  the  other  boys?"  demanded 
the  Sefior  Fernandez. 

"  I  d —  don't  know,"  gasped  poor  Tonio. 
"I  —  I  don't  see  them  anywhere."  (Tonio 
was  looking  right  up  into  the  top  of  the  cac- 
tus hedge  when  he  said  this,  so  I  am  quite 
sure  he  spoke  the  truth.) 

• 

"Humph,"  grunted  Senor  Fernandez. 
"Go  look  for  them." 

Tonio  began  to  hunt  around  stones  and 
bushes  in  the  pasture  with  Sefior  Fernandez 
folio  wing  right  behind  on  his  horse.  It  wasn't 
long  before  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  red.  It 
was  the  pieces  of  the  scrape,  which  Ignacio 
had  picked  up.  Tonio  pointed  it  out,  and 
Senor  Fernandez  galloped  to  it  and  brought 
out  the  two  culprits.  Then  he  marched  the 
three  boys  back  to  the  village  in  front  of  his 

horse,  Tonio  with  his  blistered  hands  and 
i 

torn  clothes,  Juan  with  bumps  that  were  al- 
ready much  swollen,  and  Ignacio  wet  as  a 
drowned  rat  and  carrying  the  rags  of  the 
serape. 

When   they  got  back  to  the  river  they 
79 


found  Dona  Teresa  there  washing  out  some 
clothes.  When  she  saw  them  coming  she 
stopped  rubbing  and  looked  at  them.  She 
was  perfectly  astonished.  She  supposed,  of 
course,  that  Tonio  was  in  school. 

"  Here,  Dona  Teresa,  is  a  very  bad  boy," 
Senor  Fernandez  said  to  her.  "He  has  been 
chasing  my  goat  all  around  the  pasture  and 
lassoing  it,  and  he  left  the  bars  down  and 
they  are  broken  besides,  and  no  one  knows 
where  the  goat  is  by  this  time.  I  '11  leave 
him  to  you,  but  I  want  you  to  make  a  thor- 
ough job  of  It." 

He  didn't  say  just  what  she  should  make 
a  thorough  job  of,  but  Tonio  had  n't  the 
smallest  doubt  about  what  he  meant.  Dona 
Teresa  seemed  to  understand  too. 

Senor  Fernandez  rode  on  and  left  Tonio 
with  his  mother  while  he  took  the  other  two 
boys  to  their  homes.  What  happened  there 
I  do  not  know,  but  when  she  and  Tonio 
were  alone  I  do  know  that  Dona  Teresa  said 
sternly,  "  Go  bring  me  a  strong  switch  from 
the  willow  tree,"  and  that  Tonio  thought,  as 

81 


he  went  for  it,  that  there  were  more  willow 
trees  in  the  world  than  were  really  needed 

And  I  know  that  when  Dona  Teresa  had 
done  "IT'  -whatever  it  was  that  Sefior 
Fernandez  had  asked  her  to  do  thoroughly 
-Tonio  felt  that  it  would  be  a  very  long 
time  before  he  took  any  interest  in  either 
lizards  or  goats  again. 

That  evening  Pancho  went  out  with  Pinto 
and  hunted  up  the  goat  and  put  him  back 
in  the  pasture  and  brought  home  Tonio's 
lasso,  and  when  he  hung  it  up  on  the  nail 
he  said  to  Tonio,  "  I  think  you  're  too  young 
to  be  trusted  with  a  lasso.  Let  that  alone 
for  two  weeks." 

That  was  the  very  worst  of  all.  To  be 
told  that  he  was  too  young !  Tonio  went  out 
and  sat  down  under  the  fig  tree  and  thought 
perhaps  he'd  better  run  away. 

But  pretty  soon  Tita  came  out  and  sat 
down  beside  him  and  told  him  she  was  sure 
he  never  meant  any  harm  about  the  lizard, 
and  his  mother  washed  his  skinned  ta.nds 
and  put  oil  on  them,  and  brought  him  some 

82 


molasses  to  eat  on  his  tortillas  just  as  if  she 
still  loved  him  in  spite  of  everything. 

So  Tonio  went  to  bed  quite  comforted, 
and  that  was  the  end  of  that  day. 


V 
JUDAS  ISCARIOT  DAY 


V 
JUDAS  ISCARIOT  DAY 

i 

ONE  day,  later  in  spring,  in  the  week  just  be- 
fore Easter,  Dona  Teresa  got  ahead  of  the 
red  rooster.  It  happened  in  this  way.  Early 
in  the  morning,  when  everything  was  still  as 
dark  as  a  pocket,  and  not  a  single  rooster 
in  the  neighborhood  had  yet  thought  of 
crowing,  Dona  Teresa  woke  up  and  lighted 
a  candle.  Then  she  went  over  to  the  Twins' 
mat  and  held  up  her  candle  so  she  could 
look  at  them.  They  were  both  sound  asleep. 
"Wake  up,  my  lambs,"  said  Dona  Te- 
resa. But  her  lambs  did  n't  wake  up.  Dona 
Teresa  shook  them  gently.  "  Wake  up,  dor- 
mice !  Don't  you  know  this  is  Judas  Isca- 
riot  Day,  and  you  are  all  going  to  town? 
Come,  we  are  going  in  Pedro's  boat,  and 
he  has  to  start  early." 

85 


Tita  began  to  rub  her  eyes,  and  Tonio 
was  sitting  up  with  both  of  his  wide  open 
the  moment  Dona  Teresa  said  the  word 
"  boat."  They  bounced  out  in  a  minute,  and 
they  even  washed  without  being  told,  and 
they  used  soap,  too! 

Pancho  was  roused  by  the  noise  they 
made.  He  got  up  at  once  and  went  to  attend 
to  the  donkey  and  to  Pinto.  When  he  opened 
the  door  the  gleam  of  Dona  Teresa's  candle 
woke  the  red  rooster.  He  began  to  crow,  and 
then  all  the  other  roosters  crowed,  and  almost 
right  away  candles  were  glimmering  in  every 
hut  in  the  village  and  every  one  was  up  and 
getting  ready  to  start  to  town. 

Everybody  was  going.  Some  were  going 
on  horseback  and  some  on  donkeys ;  more 
were  walking,  and  as  it  was  many  miles  from 
the  hacienda  to  the  town  it  was  necessary 
to  start  very  early. 

The  quickest  way  to  go  was  by  boat,  but, 
of  course,  not  every  one  could  go  that 
way  because  there  were  not  enough  boats. 
Pedro's  boat  went  back  and  forth  every  day 

86 


between  the  hacienda  and  the  town,  carry- 
ing wood  and  all  kinds  of  supplies.  He  was 
a  friend  of  Pancho's  and  that  was  how  they 
were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  invited  to  go  with 
him. 

Dona  Teresa  got  breakfast  very  quickly, 
and  while  they  were  eating  it  they  heard  a 
voice  calling,   "  Here,  buy  your  Judases  - 
at  six  and  twelve  cents  —  your  Judases." 

''There  comes  the  Judas-seller.  Run, 
children,  run,"  cried  Dona  Teresa.  "You 
may  each  have  twelve  cents  and  you  may 
buy  two  little  ones  or  one  big  one,  as  you 
like." 

The  Judas-seller  had  a  long  branch  cut 
from  a  tree,  with  little  twigs  growing  out  of 
it.  On  each  twig  hung  a  "Judas."  They 
were  small  dolls,  with  sticky  pink-painted 
faces  and  sticky  black-painted  hair,  and  they 
were  dressed  in  tissue  paper.  The  hands  of 
the  Judases  were  stuck  straight  out  on  each 
side  and  from  one  hand  to  the  other  there 
was  a  string  stretched.  Fire-crackers  were 
hung  along  on  this  string.  When  these  fire- 

87 


crackers  go  off,  one  after  another,  they  set 
fire  to  the  Judas  and  burn  him  up. 

You  remember  that  long  years  ago,  when 
Jesus  was  on  earth,  He  was  betrayed  by  a 
man  named  Judas  Iscariot,  who  sold  Him 
to  his  enemies  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  In 
Mexico,  Judas  Iscariot  Day  is  kept  in  re- 
membrance of  this,  and  all  the  Judases 
which  the  people  buy  and  burn  up  are  to 
show  how  very  wicked  they  believe  the  real 
Judas  to  have  been. 

But  the  Judas  dolls  did  n't  look  the  least 
bit  as  the  real  Judas  must  have  looked. 
Some  of  them  were  made  to  look  like  Mex- 
ican donkey-boys  and  some  like  water-car- 
riers, while  others  represented  priests,  or 
policemen,  or  cowboys. 

Tita  could  n't  make  up  her  mind  whether 
to  buy  a  donkey-boy  or  a  policeman.  But 
Tonio  found  what  he  wanted  right  away. 
It  was  a  "  Judas  "  made  like  a  thin  young 
school-teacher!  Tonio  thought  it  looked 
like  the  Senor  Maestro,  and  he  thought  it 
would  be  very  pleasant  to  see  him  burn  up, 

88 


and  so,  though  he  cost  twelve  cents,  he 
bought  him  at  once. 

ii 

When  Pancho  and  Dona  Teresa  and  the 
Twins  were  ready  they  went  in  a  little  pro- 
cession to  the  lake-shore.  They  found  Pe- 
dro with  his  wife  and  baby  and  Pablo  al- 
ready there. 

This  was  the  very  same  Pablo  on  whose 
feet  Tonio  had  put  the  lizard.  He  was  Pe- 
dro's son. 

Pedro  was  loading  the  boat  with  bundles 
of  reeds.  They  were  the  reeds  used  for 
weaving  the  petates '  or  sleeping-mats.  The 
reeds  grew  all  about  the  lake,  but  the  peo- 
ple in  the  town  could  not  easily  get  them, 
so  Pedro  had  gathered  a  supply  to  sell  to 
them. 

The  boat  was  quite  large.  It  had  one  sail 
and  there  was  a  thatched  roof  of  reeds  over 
,the  back  part  of  it.  It  was  too  large  to  bring 
into  the  shallow  water  near  the  shore,  so 

1  Pay-tab 'lays. 
89 


Pedro  had  rolled  up  his  white  trousers  and 
was  wading  back  and  forth  from  the  boat  to 
the  beach,  carrying  a  bundle  of  reeds  each 
time  and  stowing  it  away  under  the  thatch. 

Pancho  at  once  took  off  his  sandals, 
rolled  up  his  trousers,  and  began  to  help 
carry  the  bundles,  while  Dona  Teresa  and 
the  Twins  sat  on  the  sand  with  Pablo  and 
the  baby  and  their  mother. 

There  was  a  large  sack  of  sweet  potatoes 
lying  on  the  sand  beside  Pedro's  wife.  You 
could  tell  they  were  sweet  potatoes  because 

90 


the  bundle  was  so  knobby.  Besides  Tonio 
felt  of  them. 

4 'What  are  you  going  to  do  Udth  your 
sweet  potatoes?"  asked  Dona  Teresa. 

"  I  'm  going  to  cook  them  in*  molasses 
and  sell  them,"  said  Pedro's  wife.  "I  shall 
sit  under  an  awning  and  watch  the  fun  and 
turn  a  penny  at  the  same  time.  The  baby 
is  too  heavy  to  carry  round  all  day,  any- 
way." 

"  I  '11  help  you,"  said  Dona  Teresa. 
"  Very  likely  I  shall  be  glad  enough  to  sit 
down  somewhere  myself  before  the  day  is 
over." 

"  Pedro  made  me  a  little  brasero  out  of 
a  tin  box,"  said  his  wife,  "and  I  have  a 
bundle  of  wood  right  here,  and  the  syrup 
and  the  dishes,  all  ready." 

When  the  reeds  had  all  been  put  on 
board,  Pancho  took  Tonio  in  his  arms  and 
Pedro  took  Pablo,  and  they  tossed  them 
into  the  boat  as  if  they  had  been  sacks  of 
meal.  The  boys  scrambled  under  the  cov- 
ered part  and  out  to  the  bow  at  once,  and 

91 


Pablo  got  astride  the  very  nose  of  the  boat 
and  let  his  feet  hang  over. 

Then  Pedro  lifted  Tita  in. 

It  was  more  of  a  job  to  get  the  mothers 
aboard,  for  Pedro's  wife  was  fat,  and  he 
was  a.  small  man.  Pedro  shook  his  head 
when  he  looked  at  his  wife,  then  he  took 
off  his  sombrero,  and  scratched  his  head. 
At  last  he  said,  "I  think  I'll  begin  with 
the  baby." 

He  took  the  baby  and  waded  out  to  the 
boat  and  handed  her  to  Tita,  then  he  went 
back  to  shore  and  took  another  look  at  his 
wife.  "It'll  take  two  of  us,"  he  said  to 
Pancho. 

"  I  'm  your  man,"  said  Pancho  bravely. 
"I  can  lift  half  of  her." 

So  Pedro  and  Pancho  made  a  chair  with 
their  arms,  and  Pedro's  wife  sat  on  it,  and 
put  her  arms  around  their  necks,  and  they 
waded  out  with  her  into  the  water. 

They  got  along  beautifully  until  they 
reached  the  side  of  the  boat  and  undertook 
to  lift  her  over  the  edge.  Then  there  came 

92 


near  being  an  awful  accident,  for  Pedro's 
foot  slipped  on  a  slimy  stone  and  he  let  her 
down  on  one  side  so  that  one  of  her  feet 
went  into  the  water. 

"  Holy  mother !  "  screamed  Pedro's  wife. 
"  They  are  going  to  drown  me !  " 

She  waved  her  arms  about  and  jounced 
so  that  Pancho  almost  dropped  the  other 
foot  in  too,  but  just  in  time  Pedro  shouted, 
"One,  two,  three,  and  over  she  goes,"  and 

93 


vas  he  said  over,  he  and  Pancho  gave  a 
great  heave  both  together,  and  in  she  went 
all  in  a  heap  beside  Tita  and  the  baby. 

While  she  crawled  under  the  awning  and 
settled  herself  with  the  baby  and  stuck  her 
foot  out  in  the  sunshine  to  dry,  Pancho  and 
Pedro  went  back  for  Dona  Teresa.  She 
was  n't  very  stout  so  they  got  her  in  with- 
out any  trouble. 

They  put  in  the  brasero  and  all  the  other 
things,  and  last  of  all  Pancho  and  Pedro 
climbed  on  board  themselves,  hoisted  the 
sail,  and  pushed  off.  Luckily  the  breeze  was 
just  right,  and  they  floated  away  over  the 
blue  water  at  about  the  time  of  day  that  you 
first  begin  to  think  of  waking  up. 

in 

. 

Even  with  a  good  breeze  it  took  nearly 
an  hour  to  sail  across  the  lake.  If  they 
had  n't  been  in  such  a  hurry  to  see  the  fun 
in  town,  the  Twins  and  Pablo  would  have 
wished  to  have  it  take  longer  still. 

Far  away  across  the  lake  they  could  see 
94 


the  town  with  its  little  bright-colored  adobe 
houses  and  the  spire  of  the  church  standing 
up  above  thre  tree-tops. 

As  they  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  they 
could  see  a  bridge,  and  people  passing  over 
it,  and  flags  flying,  and  then  they  turned 
into  a  river  which  ran  through  the  town, 
where  there  were  many  other  boats. 

It  took  some  time  to  find  a  good  place  to 
tie  the  boat,  but  at  last  it  was  done,  and  the 
whole  party  went  ashore  and  started  up  the 
street  toward  the  open  square  in  the  middle 
of  the  town. 

Pedro  and  Pancho  went  ahead,  each  carry- 
ing three  bundles  of  reeds  on  his  back.  Then 
came  Pedro's  wife  with  the  bag  of  sweet 
potatoes,  while  Dona  Teresa  carried  the 
baby.  Pablo  had  the  brasero  and  the  wood, 
and  Tonio  and  Tita  brought  up  the  rear 
with  the  molasses  jug,  the  cooking-dishes, 
and  their  Judases  all  carefully  packed  to- 
gether. 

"  Now,  mind  you,  Tonio,"  said  Dona 
Teresa  as  the  procession  started,  "don't 

95 


I^C"     ;Ak 

T'  1**   *  r  "   i        W-  ' 


fegp^i1 

»r^-X.^T\\\  :V 


|m        a  ...^ 

llf^:»i^^ 

In:  *'.-~.5effiiB2 


you  get  to  watching  everything  in  the  street 
and  forget  that  jug  of  molasses." 

It  was  pretty  hard  to  keep  your  mind  on 
96 


a  jug  wheri  chere  were  so  many  wonderful 
things  to  see.  In  the  first  place  there  was 
the  street  itself.  No  one  had  ever  seen  it  so 
gay!  Strings  had  been  stretched  back  and 
forth  across  the  street  from  the  flat  tops  of 
the  houses  on  either  side,  and  from  these 
strings  hung  thousands  of  tissue-paper 
streamers  and  pennants  in  all  sorts  of 
gorgeous  colors. 

The  houses  in  Mexican  towns  are  close 
to  the  street-line  and  stand  very  near  to- 
gether. They  are  built  around  a  tiny  open 
space  in  the  center  called  a  patio.  The  liv- 
ing-rooms open  on  the  patio,  so  all  that 
can  be  seen  of  a  house  from  the  street  is 
a  blank  wall  with  a  doorway,  and  per- 
haps a  window  or  two  with  little  balconies. 
Sometimes,  if  the  door  is  open,  there  are 
glimpses  of  plants,  flowers,  and  bird-cages 
in  the  little  patio. 

Pablo  and  Tonio  and  Tita  had  their 
hands  full,  but  they  kept  their  eyes  open, 
and  their  mouths  too.  They  seemed  to  feel 
they  could  see  more  that  way. 

97 


IV 

It  was  not  very  long  before  they  came  to 
the  public  square  or  plaza  of  the  town,  and 
there  on  one  side  was  the  church  whose 
spire  they  had  seen  from  the  boat. 

On  the  other  side  was  the  market-place, 
and  in  the  center  of  the  square  there  was  a 
fountain.  In  another  place  there  was  a  gayly 
painted  band-stand  with  the  red,  white,  and 
green  flag  of  Mexico  flying  over  it. 

There  were  beds  of  gay  geraniums  at 
each  corner  of  the  square,  and  large  trees 
made  a  pleasant  shade  where  people  could 
sit  and  watch  the  crowds,  or  listen  to  music, 
if  the  band  were  playing. 

Pedro  and  Pancho  went  straight  across 
the  street  to  the  market  side.  There  were 
rows  of  small  booths  there,  and  already 
many  of  them  were  occupied  by  people  who 
had  things  to  sell.  There  were  peanut-ven- 
ders, and  pottery-sellers ;  there  were  women 
with  lace  and  drawn  work ;  there  were  foods 
of  all  kinds,  and  flowers,  and  birds  in  cages, 


and  chickens  in  coops  or  tied  up  by  the  legs, 
and  geese  and  ducks, --in  fact,  I  can't  be- 
gin to  tell  you  all  the  things  there  were  for 
sale  in  that  market 

Pedro  found  a  stall  with  an  awning  over 
it  and  took  possession  at  once.  He  and 
Pancho  put  down  the  bundles  of  reeds  in 
a  pile,  and  his  wife  sat  on  them.  Pedro 
placed  the  brasero  on  the  ground  in  front 
of  her,  and  the  sweet  potatoes  by  her  side. 
Pablo  put  down  the  wood,  and  Dona  Te- 
resa put  the  baby  into  her  arms.  Tita  gave 
her  the  cooking-dishes,  and  Tonio  was  just 
going  to  hand  her  the  jug,  when  bang- 
bang-bang!  --  three  fire-crackers  went  off 
one  right  after  the  other  almost  in  his  ear ! 
Tonio  jumped  at  least  a  foot  high,  and  oh 
-  the  jug!  It  accidentally  tipped  over  side- 
ways, and  poured  a  puddle  of  molasses 
right  on  top  of  the  baby's  head ! 

It  ran  down  his  cheek,  but  the  baby  had 
the  presence  of  mind  to  stick  his  tongue 
out  sideways  and  lick  up  some  of  it,  so  it 
was  n't  all  wasted. 

99 


s    I 


Dona  Teresa  said  several  things  to  Tonio 
while  the  baby  was  being  mopped  up.  Tonio 
could  n't  see  why  they  should  mind  it  if  the 
baby  did  n't. 

At  last  Dona  Teresa  finished  by  saying 
to  the  Twins  and  Pablo,  "Now  you  run 
round  the  square  and  have  a  good  time  by 
yourselves,  only  see  that  you  don't  get 


100 


into  any   more   mischief;    and  come  back 
when  you  're  hungry." 

Pedro  and  Pancho  had  already  gone  off 
by  themselves,  and  as  they  did  n't  say 
where  they  were  going  I  can't  tell  you 
anything  about  it.  I  only  know  they  were 
seen  not  long  after  in  front  of  a  pulque 
shop  (pulque l  is  a  kind  of  wine)  talking  in 
low  tones  with  a  Tall  Man  on  horseback, 
and  that  after  that  nobody  saw  them  for  a 
long  time.  It  may  be  they  went  to  a  cock- 
fight, for  there  was  a  cock-fight  behind  the 
pulque  shop,  and  most  of  the  other  men 
went  if  they  did  not. 

v 

The  Twins  and  Pablo  with  their  pre- 
cious Judases  went  to  a  bench  near  the 
fountain,  and  sat  down  to  watch  the  fun. 
There  were  water-carriers  filling  their  long 
earthen  jars  at  the  fountain;  there  were 
young  girls  in  bright  dresses  who  laughed 
a  great  deal;  and  there  were  young  men  in 

1  Pool'kay. 
101 


big  hats  and  gay  scrapes  who  stood  about 
and  watched  them. 

There  were  more  small  boys  than  you 
could  count.  Twelve  o'clock  was  the  time 
that  every  one  was  supposed  to  set  off  his 
fire-crackers,  and  the  children  waited  pa- 
tiently until  the  shadows  were  very  short 
indeed  under  the  trees  in  the  square  and 
there  had  been  one  or  two  explosions  to 
start  the  noise,  then  they  tied  their  Judases 
up  in  a  row  to  the  back  of  the  bench.  They 


IO2 


hung  Tonic's  Maestro  in  the  middle,  with 
Tita's  donkey-boy  on  one  side  and  the 
policeman  on  the  other.  Pablo's  Judas  was 
a  policeman  too,  and  they  put  him  on  the 
other  side  of  the  donkey-boy. 

Then  Pablo  borrowed  a  match  from  a 
boy  and  set  fire  to  the  first  cracker  on  his 
policeman.  Fizz-fizz-bang!  off  went  the 
first  fire-cracker.  Fizz-fizz-bang!  off  went 
the  second  one.  When  the  third  one  ex- 
ploded, the  policeman  whirled  around  on 
his  string,  one  of  his  hands  caught  fire, 
and  up  he  went  in  a  puff  of  smoke. 

They  lighted  the  fuses  on  the  donkey- 
boy  and  the  other  policeman,  both  at  once, 
and  last  of  all  Tonio  set  fire  to  the  Maestro 
Judas.  He  was  the  biggest  one  of  all.  While 
the  fire-crackers  went  off  in  a  series  of 
bangs,  Tonio  jumped  up  and  down  and 
sang,  "  Pop  goes  the  Maestro  !  Pop  goes 
the  Maestro! "  and  Tita  and  Pablo  thought 
that  was  so  very  funny  that  they  hopped 
about  and  sang  it  too. 

Just  as  the  last  fire-cracker  went  off  and 
103 


Tonic's  Judas  caught  fire,  and  all  three  of 
them  were  dancing  and  singing  at  the  top  of 
their  lungs,  Tonio  saw  the  Senor  Maestro 
himself  standing  in  front  of  the  bench  with  his 
hands  in  his  pockets,  looking  right  at  them! 
Tonio  shut  his  mouth  so  quickly  that  he 
bit  his  tongue,  and  then  Pablo  and  Tita  saw 
the  Maestro  and  stopped  singing  too,  and 
they  all  three  ran  as  fast  as  they  could  go 
to  the  other  side  of  the  square  and  lost 
themselves  in  the  crowd 

104 


They  stayed  away  for  quite  a  long  time. 
They  were  in  the  crowd  by  a  baker's  shop 
when  a  great  big  Judas  which  hung  high 
overhead  exploded  and  showered  cakes 
over  them.  They  each  picked  up  a  cake  and 
then  ran  back  to  show  their  goodies  to  their 
mothers.  They  could  hardly  get  near  the 
booth  at  first,  because  there  was  quite  a 
little  crowd  around  it,  but  they  squirmed 
under  the  elbows  of  the  grown  people,  and 
right  beside  the  brasero  eating  a  piece  of 
candied  sweet  potato,  and  talking  to  Dona 
Teresa,  whom  should  they  see  but  the 
Senor  Maestro? 

Tonio  wished  he  had  n't  come.  He  turned 
round  and  tried  to  dive  back  into  the  crowd 
again,  but  the  Sefior  Maestro  reached  out 
and  caught  him  by  the  collar  and  pulled 
him  back.  Tonio  was  very  much  frightened. 
He  thought  surely  the  Maestro  had  told 
his  mother  about  "  Pop  goes  the  Maestro," 
and  that  very  unpleasant  things  were  likely 
to  happen. 

"Anyway,  there  aren't  any  willow  trees 
105 


in  the  plaza,"  he  said  to  himself.  "That's 
one  good  thing." 

But  what  really  happened  was  this.  The 
Maestro  took  three  pennies  out  of  his 
pocket,  and  said  to  Pedro's  wife,  "  Please 
give  me  three  pieces  of  your  nice  sweet 
potatoes  for  my  three  friends  here !  " 

Pedro's  wife  was  so  busy  with  her  cook- 
ing that  she  did  not  look  up  to  see  who  his 
three  friends  were  until  she  had  taken  the 
pennies  and  handed  out  the  sweet  potatoes. 
Then  she  saw  Pablo  and  Tonio  and  Tita 
all  three  standing  in  a  row  looking  very 
foolish. 

She  was  quite  overcome  at  the  honor  the 
Maestro  had  done  her  in  buying  sweet  po- 
tatoes to  give  to  her  son,  and  Dona  Teresa 
thought  to  herself,  "They  really  must  be 
very  good  and  clean  children  to  have  the 
Maestro  think  so  much  of  them  as  that." 
She  thanked  him,  and  Tonio  and  Tita  and 
Pablo  all  thanked  him. 

After  that  there  was  a  wonderful  concert 
by  a  band  all  dressed  in  green  and  white 

1 06 


uniforms  with  red  braid,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  concert,  it  was  four  o'clock.  Pedro's. wife 
had  sold  all  her  sweet  potatoes  by  that  time 
and  Pedro  had  sold  all  his  reeds.  Pancho 
had  come  back,  the  baby  was  sleepy,  and 
every  one  was  tired  and  ready  to  go  home. 
So  the  whole  party  returned  to  the  boat,  this 
time  without  any  heavy  bundles  except  the 
baby  to  carry,  and  sailed  away  across  the 
lake  toward  the  hacienda. 

Pancho  and  Dona  Teresa  and  the  Twins 
reached  their  little  adobe  hut  just  as  the  red 
rooster  and  the  five  hens  and  the  turkey  were 
flying  up  to  their  roost  in  the  fig  tree. 


VI 
THE  ADVENTURE 


VI 
THE  ADVENTURE 

i 

ONE  hot  morning  in  early  June,  Dona  Teresa 
took  her  washing  down  to  the  river,  and 
Tonio  and  Tita  went  with  her.  They  found 
Dona  Josefa  and  Pedro's  wife  already  there 
with  their  soiled  clothes,  and  the  three 
women  had  a  good  time  gossiping  together 
while  they  soaped  the  garments  and  scrubbed 
them  well  on  stones  at  the  water's  edge. 

Pablo  and  the  Twins  played  in  the  water 
meanwhile,  hunting  mud  turtles  and  build- 
ing dams  and  trying  to  catch  minnows  with 
their  hands. 

At  last  Pablo's  mother  said  to  him, 
"  Pablo,  take  this  piece  of  soap  and  go  be- 
hind those  bushes  and  take  a  bath." 

Then  she  went  on  telling  Dona  Teresa 
about  a  new  pattern  of  drawn  work  she  was 

109 


beginning  and  forgot  all  about  Pablo.  Pablo 
disappeared  behind  the  bush,  and  no  one  saw 
him  again  that  day.  He  wasn't  drowned, 
but  it 's  my  belief  that  he  was  n't  bathed 
either. 

However,  this  story  is  not  about  Pablo. 
It 's  about  Tonio  and  Tita,  and  what  hap- 
pened to  them. 

Dona  Teresa  said  to  them,  "  I  wish  you 
would  get  Tonto  and  go  up  the  mountain 
beyond  the  pasture  and  bring  down  a  load 
of  wood.  Take  some  lunch  with  you.  You 
won't  get  lost,  because  Tonto  knows  the 
way  home  if  you  don't.  Get  all  the  ocote* 
branches  you  can  to  burn  in  the  brasero." 

The  Twins  were  delighted  with  this  er- 
rand. It  meant  a  picnic  for  them,  so  they 
ran  back  to  the  house  and  got  Tonto  and 
the  luncheon  and  started  away  down  the 
road  as  gay  as  two  larks  in  the  spring- 
time. 

They  both  rode  on  the  donkey's  back 
and  they  had  Tonio's  lasso  with  them. 

'  O-ko'teh. 
no 


The  luncheon  was  in  Tonic's  hat  as  usual. 
Tonio  whistled  for  Jasmin,  but  he  was  no- 
where to  be  found,  so  they  started  without 
him. 

They  crossed  the  goat-pasture,  and  this 
time  Tonio  did  not  forget  to  put  up  the 
bars.  They  passed  the  goat  too,  but  Tonio 
rode  right  by  and  hoped  the  goat  would  n't 
notice  him. 

From  the  goat-pasture  they  turned  into 
a  sort  of  trail  that  led  up  the  mountain-side, 
and  rode  on  for  two  miles  until  they  came 
to  a  thick  wood.  Here  they  dismounted 
and,  leaving  Tonto  to  graze  comfortably  by 
himself,  began  to  search  for  ocote  wood. 
Tonio  had  a  machete  stuck  in  his  belt. 

A  machete  is  a  long  strong  knife,  and 
he  used  it  to  cut  up  the  wood  into  small 
pieces.  Then  he  tied  it  up  in  a  bundle 
with  his  lasso  to  carry  home  on  Tonto's 
back. 

The  children  had  such  fun  wandering 
about,  gathering  sticks,  and  looking  for 
birds'  nests  that  they  didn't  think  a  thing 

in 


about  time  until  they  suddenly  realized 
that  they  were  very  hungry.  They  had 
gone  some  distance  into  the  wood,  and 
quite  out  of  sight  of  Tonto  by  this  time. 

ii 

They  sat  down  on  a  fallen  log  and  ate 
their  lunch,  and  then  they  were  thirsty. 

"  Let 's  find  a  brook  and  get  a  drink," 
said  Tonio.  "  I  know  there  must  be  one 
right  near  here." 

They  left  their  bundle  of  wood  and  walked 
for  some  distance  searching  for  water,  but 
no  stream  did  they  find.  They  grew  thirstier 
and  thirstier. 

"  It  seems  to  me  I  shall  dry  up  and  blow 
away  if  we  don't  find  it  pretty  soon,"  said 
Tita. 

• 

"I  've  almost  found  it,  I  think,"  an- 
swered Tonio.  "  It  must  be  right  over  by 
those  willow  trees." 

They  went  to  the  willow  trees  but  there 
was  no  stream  there. 

"  I  think  we'd  better  go  back  and  get 

112 


the  wood  and  start  home,"  said  Tita.  "We 
can  get  a  drink  in  the  goat-pasture." 

"All  right,"  said  Tonio,  and  he  led  the 
way  back  into  the  woods. 

They  looked  and  looked  for  the  bundle 
of  sticks,  but  somehow  everything  seemed 
different. 

"  I  'm  sure  it  must  have  been  right  near 
here,"  said  Tonio.  "  I  remember  that  black 
stump.  I  'm  sure  I  do,  because  it  looks 
like  a  bear  sitting  up  on  his  hind  legs. 
Don't  you  remember  it,  Tita?  " 

But  Tita  did  n't  remember  it,  and  I  'm 
afraid  Tonio  did  n't  either,  really,  for  the 
bundle  of  sticks  certainly  was  not  there. 
They  hunted  about  for  a  long  time,  and  at 
last  Tonio  said,  "I  think  we'd  better  go 
back  to  Tonto;  he  may  be  lonesome." 

But  Tonto  had  disappeared  too !  Tonio 
was  sure  he  knew  just  where  he  had  left 
him,  but  when  they  got  to  the  place  he 
was  n't  there,  and  it  wasn't  the  place  either! 
It  was  very  discouraging. 

At  last  Tonio  said,  "Well,  anyway, 
"3 


Tonto  knows  the  way  home  by  himself. 
We  '11  just  let  him  find  his  own  way,  and 
we  '11  go  home  by  ourselves." 

"All  right,"  said  Tita,  and  they  started 
down  the  mountain-side. 

They  had  walked  quite  a  long  way  when 
Tita  said,  "  I  think  we  're  high  enough  up 
so  we  ought  to  see  the  lake."  But  no  lake 
was  in  sight  in  any  direction. 

Tita  began  to  cry.  "  We- we- we  're  just 
as  lost  as  we  can  be,"  she  sobbed.  "And 
you  did  it!  You  said  you  knew  the  way, 
and  you  did  n't,  and  now  we  '11  die  of 
hunger  and  nobody  will  find  us  -  - 1  want 
to  go  home" 

"Hush  up,"  said  Tonio.  "Crying  won't 
help.  We  '11  keep  on  walking  and  walking 
and  we  '11  just  have  to  come  to  something, 
some  time.  And  there  '11  be  people  there  and 
they'll  tell  us  how  to  go." 

Tonio  seemed  so  sure  of  this  that  Tita 
was  a  little  comforted.  They  walked  for  a 
very  long  time  —  hours  it  seemed  to  her  — 
before  Tita  spoke  again. 

114 


Then  she  said,  "There's  a  big  black 
cloud,  and  the  sun  is  lost  in  it,  and  it 's  going 
to  rain,  and  we  are  n't  anywhere  at  all  yet!  " 

They  had  got  down  to  level  ground  by 
this  time  and  were  walking  through  a  great 


field  of  maguey1  plants.  The  maguey  is 
a  strange  great  century-plant  that  grows 
higher  than  a  man's  head.  When  it  gets  ready 
to  blossom  the  center  is  cut  out  and  the 
hollow  place  fills  with  a  sweet  juice  which 
Mexicans  like  to  drink.  Tonio  knew  this 
and  thought  perhaps  he  could  get  a  drink 
in  that  way. 

So  he  cut  down  a  hollow-stemmed  weed 
with  his  machete  and  made  a  pipe  out  of 
it.  Then  he  climbed  up  on  the  plant  that  had 
been  cut  and  stuck  one  end  of  his  pipe  into 
the  juice,  and  the  other  into  his  mouth.  When 
he  had  had  enough,  he  boosted  Tita  up  and 
she  got  a  drink  too.  This  made  them  feel 
better,  and  they  walked  on  until  they  had 
passed  the  maguey  plantation  and  were  out 
in  the  open  fields  once  more. 

in 

The  sky  grew  darker  and  darker,  and 
there  were  queer  shapes  all  around  them. 
Giant  cacti  with  their  arms  reaching  out  like 

1  Mah-gay'e. 
116 


the  arms  of  a  cross  loomed  up  before  them. 
There  were  other  great  cacti  in  groups  of 
tall  straight  spines,  and  every  now  and  then 
a  palm  tree  would  spread  its  spiky  leaves 
like  giant  fingers  against  the  sky. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  great  clap  of  thun- 
der, "It's  the  beginning  of  the  rains,"  said 
Tonio. 

117 


"Shall  we  —  shall  we — be  drowned — do 
you  think?"  weptTita.  "It's  almost  night." 

Tonio  was  really  a  brave  boy,  but  it  is  no 
joke  to  be  lost  in  such  country  as  that,  and 
he  knew  it. 

Tonio  was  almost  crying,  too,  but  he  said, 
"  I  '11  climb  the  first  tree  I  can  get  up  into 
and  look  around."  He  tried  to  make  his 
voice  sound  big  and  brave,  but  it  shook  a 
little  in  spite  of  him. 

Soon  they  came  to  a  mesquite  tree.  There 
were  long  bean-like  pods  hanging  from  it. 
Tonio  climbed  the  tree  and  threw  down  some 
pods.  They  were  good  to  eat.  Tita  gathered 
them  up  in  her  rebozo,1  while  Tonio  gazed 
in  every  direction  to  see  if  he  could  see  a 
house  or  shelter  of  any  kind. 

"I  don't  see  anything  but  that  hill  over 
there,"  he  called  to  Tita.  "It  is  shaped  like 
a  great  mound  and  seems  to  be  all  stone  and 
rock.  Perhaps  if  we  could  get  up  on  top  of 
it  and  look  about  we  could  tell  where  we 
are." 

1  Ray-bS'so. 
118 


"Let's  run,  then,"  said  Tita. 

The  children  took  hold  of  hands  and  ran 
toward  the  hill.  There  were  cacti  of  all 
kinds  around  them,  and  as  they  ran,  the 
spines  caught  their  clothes.  The  hill  seemed 
to  get  bigger  and  bigger  as  they  came  nearer 
to  it,  and  it  did  n't  look  like  any  hill  they  had 
ever  seen.  It  was  shaped  like  a  great  pyra- 
mid and  was  covered  with  blocks  of  stone. 
There  were  bushes  growing  around  the  base 
and  out  of  cracks  between  the  stones.  Tonio 
tried  to  climb  up  but  it  was  so  steep  he  only 
slipped  back  into  the  bushes,  every  time  he 
tried. 

"Oh,  Tonio,  maybe  it  is  n't  a  hill  at  all," 
whispered  Tita.  "Maybe  it's  the  castle  of 
some  awful  creature  who  will  eat  us  up!" 

"  Well,  whatever  it  is  he  won't  eat  me 
up  !  "  said  Tonio  boldly.  "  I  '11  stick  a  cactus 
down  his  throat  and  he'll  have  to  cough  me 
right  up  if  he  tries." 

"  I  '11  kick  and  scream  so  he  '11  have  to 
cough  me  up  too,"  sobbed  Tita. 

Just  then  there  came  a  flash  of  lightning. 
119 


It  was  so  bright  that  the  children  saw  what 
they  had  n't  noticed  before.  It  was  a  hollow 
place  in  the  side  of  the  pyramid  where  a 
great  stone  had  fallen  out,  and  the  dirt  un- 
derneath had  been  washed  away,  leaving  a 
hole  big  enough  for  them  to  crawl  into,  but 
it  was  far  above  their  heads. 

At  last  Tonio  climbed  into  a  small  tree 
that  grew  beside  it,  bent  a  branch  over,  and 
dropped  down  into  the  hollow,  holding  to 
the  branch  by  his  hands. 

Poor  Tita  never  had  felt  so  lonely  in  her 
whole  life  as  she  did  when  she  saw  Tonio 
disappear  into  that  hole  !  In  a  minute  he 
was  out  again  and  looking  over  the  edge  at 
her. 

"It's  all  right.  You  climb  up  just  as  I 
did,"  he  said. 

Tita  tied  the  mesquite  pods  in  the  end  of  her 
rebozo  and  threw  it  up  to  Tonio.  Then  she 
too  climbed  the  little  tree  and  dropped  from 
the  branch  into  the  mouth  of  the  tiny  cave. 

A  hole  in  the  side  of  a  queer  pyramid 
is  n't  exactly  a  cheerful  place  to  be  in  during 

120 


a  storm,  but  it  was  so  much  better  than  being 
lost  in  a  cactus  grove  that  the  children  felt 
a  little  comforted. 

The  rain  began  to  fall  in  great  splashing 
drops,  but  they  were  protected  in  their  rocky 
house.  They  ate  the  mesquite  pods  for  their 
supper,  and  then  Tonio  said  :  "  Of  course, 
no  one  will  find  us  to-night,  so  we'd  better 
go  to  sleep.  We  '11  play  we  are  foxes.  The 
animals  and  birds  sleep  in  such  places  all 
the  time  and  they  're  not  afraid." 

So  they  curled  down  in  the  corner  of  the 
cave,  and,  being  very  tired,  soon  fell  asleep. 


VII 
WHILE  THEY  WERE  GONE 


VII 
WHILE  THEY  WERE  GONE 

i 

MEANWHILE  what  do  you  suppose  had  been 
happening  at  home?  When  she  had  finished 
her  washing  and  had  dried  the  clothes  on 
the  bushes,  Dona  Teresa  folded  them  and 
carried  them  back  to  the  house,  and  began 
her  ironing. 

She  did  n't  think  much  about  the  time  be- 
cause she  was  so  busy  with  her  work,  but 
at  last  she  felt  hungry  and  glanced  out  at 
the  shadow  of  the  fig  tree  to  see  what  time 
it  was. 

She  was  surprised  to  see  the  shadow  al- 
ready quite  long  and  pointing  toward  the 
east. 

"Well,"  thought  she  to  herself,  "I'll  get 
myself  something  to  eat,  and  by  that  time 
the  children  will  be  home  and  as  hungry  as 

123 


two  bears.  I  think  I  '11  get  something  espe- 
cially good  for  their  supper." 

She  hummed  a  little  tune  as  she  worked, 
and  every  little  while  she  glanced  out  the 
open  door  to  see  if  they  were  not  coming. 
By  and  by  she  noticed  that  the  sky  was 
overcast  and  then  she  heard  a  clap  of  thun- 
der. It  was  the  very  same  clap  of  thunder 
that  had  frightened  the  Twins  in  the  cactus 
grove. 

"  The  holy  saints  above  us! "  cried  Dona 
Teresa  aloud.  "The  children  should  have 
been  home  long  ago.  Where  can  they  be! " 
She  ran  to  the  door  just  in  time  to  see  Tonto 
come  ambling  slowly  into  the  yard  alone  and 
go  to  his  own  place  in  the  shed. 

Dona  Teresa's  eyes  almost  popped  out 
of  her  head  with  surprise  and  fright.  She 
threw  on  her  rebozo  and  ran  over  to  Pedro's 
hut.  Pedro's  wife  was  just  examining  Pab- 
lo's ears  to  see  if  he  had  really  washed  him- 
self in  the  river,  when  Dona  Teresa  arrived, 
quite  breathless,  at  the  door. 

"Whatever  can  be  the  reason  that  my 
124 


children  are  not  home?"  she  gasped.  "You 
remember  it  was  morning  when  I  sent  them 
after  wood.  They  have  not  been  seen  since, 
and  Tonto  walked  into  the  yard  just  now 
all  alone,  and  of  course  there's  nothing  to 
be  got  out  of  him !  What  can  have  happened 
to  them?" 

"Now,  never  you  mind,  like  a  sensible 
woman,"  said  Pablo's  mother  soothingly. 
"They're  playing  along  the  way  as  likely 
as  not  and  will  be  at  your  door  before  you 
are.  Who  should  know  better  than  myself 
the  way  children  will  forget  the  thing  they're 
set  to  do." 

She  looked  severely  at  Pablo  as  she  said 
this,  so  I  judge  the  examination  of  his  ears 
had  not  been  satisfactory. 

Dona  Teresa  did  n't  wait  to  hear  any 
more,  but  ran  back  home,  and  when  the  chil- 
dren still  did  not  appear  she  walked  down 
the  road  hoping  to  meet  them. 

The  clouds  grew  blacker  and  blacker, 
and  the  rain  began  to  fall.  Dona  Teresa 
called  Jasmin,  who  had  reappeared  by  this 


time,  and  gave  him  Tonio's  shoes  to  smell 
of. 

"  Go  find  him,  go  find  him,"  she  cried. 

Jasmin  whined  and  looked  anxious,  but 
just  then  came  a  flash  of  lightning.  Jasmin 
was  afraid  of  lightning,  so  he  crept  into 
Tonto's  stall  with  his  tail  between  his 
legs  and  hid  there  until  the  storm  was 
over. 

ii 

At  last  it  was  time  for  Pancho  to  come 
home.  Poor  Dona  Teresa  kept  her  supper 
hot  and  waited  anxiously  to  hear  the  sound 
of  Pinto's  hoofs,  but  no  such  sound  came. 
Pancho  would  go  with  her,  and  together 
they  would  find  their  children,  she  was  sure, 
but  six  o'clock  and  seven  came,  without 
either  Pancho  or  the  children. 

It  was  quite  dark  when  at  last  she  put  on 
her  rebozo  and  ran  as  fast  as  she  could  to 
the  priest's  house.  The  door  was  opened 
by  the  priest's  fat  sister,  who  kept  house 
for  him. 

126 


"  Oh,  where  is  the  padrecito?"  Dona 
Teresa  said  to  her.  "  I  must  see  him." 

"He  is  eating  his  supper,"  said  the  fat 
sister. 

"  Tell  him  I  am  in  great  trouble,"  sobbed 
Dona  Teresa. 

In  a  moment  the  priest  appeared  at  the 
door,  and  Dona  Teresa  kissed  the  hand  he 
stretched  out  to  her,  and  told  him  her  anxi- 
eties all  in  one  breath. 

The  padrecito  had  just  had  his  supper  and 
was  feeling  very  comfortable  himself,  so  he 
told  her  he  was  sure  that  everything  would 
come  out  all  right.  He  patted  Dona  Teresa 
on  the  shoulder  and  said  not  to  worry;  that 
probably  Pancho  had  had  to  stay  to  mend  a 
fence  somewhere,  and  the  children  —  why, 
they  had  probably  stopped  to  play! 

"  In  pitch  darkness  and  rain,  holy  father? 
It  cannot  be,"  Dona  Teresa  moaned. 

"  Well,"  said  the  priest,  "  if  they  are  not 
here  in  an  hour  we  will  search  for  them,  but 
they  will  surely  come  soon." 

Dona  Teresa  had  such  faith  in  the  priest 
127 


that  she  went  back  home,  intending  to  do 
just  what  he  said,  but  when  she  got  there 
she  found  Pedro's  wife  waiting  for  her. 

The  moment  she  saw  Dona  Teresa  she 
cried  out,  "Has  Pancho  come?" 

"No,"  sobbed  Dona  Teresa. 

"  Neither  has  Pedro,"  answered  his  wife. 
"I  can't  think  what  can  be  the  matter.  He 
never  stays  out  so  late  as  this  —  especially 
in  a  storm.  Something  dreadful  has  surely 
happened." 

Dona  Teresa  told  her  what  the  priest  had 
said,  but  neither  one  was  willing  to  wait 
another  minute,  so  they  ran  together  in  the 
rain  to  the  other  huts  and  told  the  news, 
and  the  men  formed  a  searching-party  at 
once. 

They  put  on  their  grass  coats  to  protect 
them  from  the  rain,  and  started  off  in  the 
darkness  and  wet,  carrying  lighted  pine 
torches,  and  calling  loudly,  "  Pancho  - 
Pedro  - -Tonio  - -Tita,"  every  few  min- 
utes. 

While  they  were  gone  Pedro's  wife  left 
128 


the  baby  and  Pablo  with  a  neighbor  and 
asked  her  to  send  Pablo  to  the  chapel  if 
there  should  be  any  news.  Then  she  and 
Dona  Teresa  went  there  to  pray. 

The  chapel  door  was  open  and  candles 
were  burning  on  the  little  altar,  as  the  two 
women  crept  in  and  knelt  before  the  image 
of  the  Virgin  and  Child. 

"O  Holy  Mother,"  sobbed  Dona  Teresa, 
"  help  us  who  are  mothers,  too !  " 

All  night  long  they  knelt  on  the  chapel 
floor  before  the  images,  sobbing  and  pray- 
ing, listening  for  footsteps  that  did  not  come, 
and  promising  many  candles  to  be  placed 
upon  the  altar,  if  only  their  dear  ones  could 
be  restored  to  them. 

It  was  long  after  the  rain  was  over  and  the 
moon  shining  again  that  the  weary  search 
party  returned  to  the  village  without  any 
news  of  the  wanderers. 


VIII 
THE  SECRET  MEETING 


VIII 
THE  SECRET  MEETING 

i 

THE  children,  meanwhile,  were  sleeping 
soundly  in  their  hard  bed.  They  were  so 
tired  that  they  did  not  wake  up  even  when 
a  tiny  stream  of  water  broke  through  a 
crevice  in  the  rocks  and  splashed  down  on 
Tonic's  head.  It  ran  off  his  hair  just  as  the 
rain  ran  off  the  thatched  roof  of  their  little 
adobe  hut. 

About  nine  o'clock  the  rain  stopped  and 
the  moon  shone  out  from  behind  the  clouds. 
An  owl  hooted ;  a  fox  ran  right  over  the 
roof  of  their  cave,  making  a  soft  pat-pat 
with  his  paws  that  would  have  frightened 
them  if  they  had  heard  it,  but  they  slept  on. 

At  last,  however,  something  did  wake 
Tita.  She  sat  up  in  terror.  A  flickering 
light  that  was  n't  moonlight  was  dancing 


about  the  cave !  It  was  so  bright  that  she 
could  see  everything  about  them  as  plain 
as  day. 

She  clutched  Tonio,  shook  him  gently, 
and  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  Tonio,  Tonio, 
wake  up." 

Tonio  stirred  and  opened  his  mouth,  but 
Tita  clapped  her  hand  over  it.  She  was  so 
afraid  he  would  make  a  noise.  When  he  saw 
the  flickering  light  Tonio  almost  shouted 
for  joy,  for  he  was  sure  that  his  father  had 
found  them  at  last. 

The  flickering  light  grew  brighter.  They 
heard  the  crackling  of  flames  and  men's 
voices,  and  saw  sparks.  Very  quietly  they 
squirmed  around  on  their  stomachs  until 
they  could  peep  out  of  the  opening  of  their 
cave. 

This  is  what  they  sawl 

There  on  the  ground  a  few  feet  in  front 
of  their  hiding-place  was  a  fire,  and  two  men 
were  beside  it.  Their  horses  were  tied  to 
bushes  not  far  away.  One  of  the  men  was 
broiling  meat  on  the  end  of  a  stick.  The 

'34 


smell  of  it  made  the  children  very  hun- 
gry. The  other  man  was  drinking  some- 
thing hot  from  a  cup.  They  both  had  guns, 
and  the  guns  were  leaning  against  the  rocks 
just  below  the  cave  where  the  children  were 
hidden. 

The  man  who  was  standing  up  was  tall 
and  had  a  fierce  black  mustache.  He  had 
on  a  big  sombrero,  and  under  a  fold  of  his 
scrape  Tonio  could  see  a  cartridge-belt  and 
the  handle  of  a  revolver. 

"  It 's  the  Tall  Man  that  Father  and  Pedro 
were  talking  to  in  front  of  the  pulque  shop," 
whispered  Tonio. 

Tita  was  so  frightened  that  she  shook  like 
a  leaf  and  her  teeth  chattered. 

Pretty  soon  the  Tall  Man  spoke.  "The 
others  ought  to  be  here  soon,"  he  said. 
"They'll  see  the  fire.  Put  on  a  few  more 
sticks  and  make  it  flame  up  more." 

The  other  man  gave  a  last  turn  to  the 
meat,  handed  it  stick  and  all  to  the  Tall  Man, 
and  disappeared  behind  the  bushes  to  search 
for  wood. 


He  had  not  yet  come  back,  when  there 
was  the  sound  of  horses'  feet,  and  a  man 
rode  into  sight,  dismounted,  hitched  his 
horse,  and  joined  the  Tall  Man  by  the  fire. 

One  by  one  others  came,  until  there  were 
ten  men  standing  about  and  talking  together 
in  low  tones.  Last  of  all  there  was  the  thud- 
thud  of  two  more  horses  and  who  should 

136 


come  riding  into  the  firelight  but  Pancho 
on  Pinto,  and  Pedro  on  another  horse! 

When  they  joined  the  circle,  Tonio  almost 
sprang  up  and  shouted.  He  did  make  a  little 
jump,  but  Tita  clutched  him  and  held  him 
back.  He  loosened  a  pebble  at  the  mouth 
of  the  cave  by  his  motion  and  it  clattered 
down  over  the  rock.  The  man  who  had 
gone  for  the  wood  was  just  putting  his  load 
down  by  the  fire  when  the  pebble  came  rat- 
tling down  beside  him. 

"What's  that?"  he  said,  and  sprang  for 
his  rifle. 

Tonio  hastily  drew  in  his  head.  The 
men  all  listened  intently  for  a  few  minutes, 
and  looked  cautiously  about  them. 

"  It  's  nothing  but  a  pebble,"  said  the 
Tall  Man  at  last.  "  No  one  will  disturb  us 
here.  And  if  they  should,"  -he  tapped  the 
handle  of  his  revolver  and  smiled,--  "  we  'd 
give  them  such  a  warm  welcome  they  would 
be  glad  to  stay  with  us  — quietly — oh,  very 
quietly!" 

The  other  men  grinned  a  little,  as  if  they 


saw  a  joke  in  this,   and  then  they  all  sat 
down  in  a  circle  around  the  fire. 

ii 

Pancho  and  Pedro  sat  where  the  children 
could  look  right  at  them.  The  Tall  Man 
was  the  only  one  who  did  not  sit  down. 
He  stood  up  and  began  to  talk. 

"Well,  men,"  he  said.  "I  knew  I  could 
count  on  you  !  Brave  fellows  like  you  know 
well  when  a  blow  must  be  struck,  and  where 
is  the  true  Mexican  who  was  ever  afraid  to 
strike  a  blow  when  he  knew  that  it  was 
needed  ? 

"We  come  of  a  race  of  fighters!  And 
once  Mexico  belonged  to  them !  Our  In- 
dian forefathers  did  not  serve  a  race  of 
foreign  tyrants  as  we,  their  sons,  do !  Look 
about  you  on  Mexico !  Where  in  the  whole 
world  can  be  found  such  a  land  ?  The  soil 
so  rich  that  it  yields  crops  that  burden  the 
earth,  and  mountains  full  of  gold  and  silver 
and  precious  stones  !  And  it  is  for  this  rea- 
son we  are  enslaved ! 

138 


"  If  our  land  were  less  rich  and  less 
beautiful,  if  it  bore  no  such  crops,  if  its 
sunshine  were  not  so  bright,  and  its  moun- 
tains yielded  no  such  treasure,  we  should 
be  free  men  to-day. 

"  But  the  world  envied  our  possessions. 
You  know  how  Cortez,  long  ago,  came 
from  Spain  and  when  our  forefathers  met 
him  with  friendliness  he  slew  men,  women, 
and  children,  tore  down  their  ancient  temples, 
and  set  the  churches  of  Spain  in  their  places  ! 

"  The  Spaniards  turned  our  fathers  from 
free  and  brave  men  into  a  conquered  and 
enslaved  people,  and  worst  of  all  they  mixed 
their  hated  blood  with  ours.  From  the  days 
of  Cortez  until  now  in  one  way  or  another 
we  have  submitted  to  oppression,  until  the 
spirit  of  our  brave  Indian  ancestors  is  al- 
most dead  within  us ! 

"  And  for  what  do  we  serve  these  aristo- 
crats ?  For  the  privilege  of  remaining  ig- 
norant! For  the  privilege  of  tilling  their 
fields,  which  were  once  ours !  For  the 
privilege  of  digging  our  gold  and  silver 


and  precious  stones  out  of  their  mines  to 
make  them  rich!  For  the  privilege  of  liv- 
ing in  huts  while  they  live  in  palaces !  For 
the  privilege  of  being  robbed  and  beaten  in 
the  name  of  laws  we  never  heard  of  and 
which  we  had  no  part  in  making,  though 
this  country  is  called  a  Republic !  A  Re- 
public! -  -  Bah  !  —  A  Republic  where  more 
than  half  the  people  cannot  read  !  A  Re- 
public of  cattle!  A  Republic  where  men 
like  you  work  for  a  few  pence  a  day,  barely 
enough  to  keep  body  and  soul  together  - 
and  even  that  pittance  you  must  spend  in 
stores  owned  by  the  men  for  whom  you 
work ! 

' '  The  little  that  you  earn  goes  straight  back 
into  the  pockets  of  your  masters  !  Do  you 
not  see  it  ?  Do  you  not  see  if  they  own  the 
land  and  the  supplies  they  own  you  too  > 
They  call  you  free  men  —  but  are  you  free? 
What  are  you  free  to  do  ?  Free  to  starve 
if  you  will  not  work  on  their  terms,  or  if 
you  will  not  strike  a  blow  for  freedom. 
Are  not  my  words  true  ?  Speak  up  and 

140 


answer  me !   Are  you  satisfied  ?  Are  you 
free?" 

in 

The  Tall  Man  stopped  and  waited  for  an 
answer.  The  fire  flickered  over  the  dark 
faces  of  angry  men,  and  Pedro  stirred  un- 
easily as  if  he  would  like  to  say  some- 
thing. 

"Speak  out,  Pedro.  Tell  us  your  story," 
said  the  Tall  Man. 

Pedro  stood  up  and  shook  his  fist  at  the 
fire.  "  Every  word  you  speak  is  true,"  he 
said.  "Who  should  know  better  than  I? 
I  had  a  small  farm  some  miles  from  here, 
left  me  by  my  father.  It  was  my  own,  and 
I  tilled  my  land  and  was  content.  My  father 
could  not  read,  neither  could  I.  No  one 
told  me  of  the  laws. 

"At  last  one  day  a  rural1  rode  to  my 
house,  and  said,  '  Pedro,  why  have  you  not 
obeyed  the  law  ?  The  law  says  that  if  you 
did  not  have  your  property  recorded  before 

1  Roo-rahr. 

141 


• 


a  magistrate  by  the  first  of  last  month  it 
should  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  the 
State.' 

"  '  But  I  have  never  heard  of  such  a  law,' 
I  said  to  him.  He  answered,  '  Ignorance 
excuses  no  man.  Your  farm  belongs  to  the 
state.'  And  I  and  my  family  were  turned 

142 


out  of  the  house  in  which  I  and  my  father 
before  me  had  been  born.  All  our  neigh- 
bors were  treated  in  the  same  way.  In 
despair  we  went  away  to  the  hacienda  of 
Senor  Fernandez,  and  there  we  work  for  a 
pittance  as  you  say.  And  our  homes  !  That 
whole  region  was  turned  over  by  the  Presi- 
dent, not  long  after,  to  a  rich  friend  of  his, 
who  now  owns  it  as  a  great  estate ! 

"  Many  of  my  old  neighbors  are  now  his 
peons  -  -  working  for  him  on  land  that  was 
once  their  own  and  that  was  taken  from 
them  by  a  trick --by  a  trick,  I  say,"  — his 
voice  grew  thick,  and  he  sat  down  heavily 
in  his  place. 

Another  man,  a  stranger  to  Tonio,  sprang 
to  his  feet.  "  Ah,  if  that  were  all !  "  he  said ; 
"  but  even  in  peonage  we  are  not  left  un- 
disturbed !  It  was  only  a  year  ago  that  I 
was  riding  into  town  on  my  donkey  with 
some  chickens  to  sell,  when  an  officer 
stopped  me  and  brought  me  before  the  Jefe 
Politico.1 

1  Hay'fay  po-lee'tl-co. 
'43 


"  'Why  have  you  not  obeyed  the  law?' 
said  the  magistrate.  '  I  know  of  no  law  that 
I  have  not  obeyed,'  I  said.  'You  may  tell 
me  that,'  said  the  scoundrel,  'but  to  make 
me  believe  it  is  another  matter.  You  must 
know  very  well  that  a  law  was  passed  not 
long  ago  that  every  peon  must  wear  dark 
trousers  if  he  wishes  to  enter  a  town.' 

"  '  I  have  no  dark  trousers,'  said  I,  'and 
I  have  no  money  to  buy  them.  I  have  worn 
such  white  trousers  as  these  since  I  was  a 
boy,  as  have  all  the  men  in  this  region.' 
4  That  makes  no  difference  to  me,'  he  said ; 
4  law  is  law.'  I  was  put  in  prison  and  made 
to  work  every  day  on  a  bridge  that  the 
Government  was  building!  I  never  saw 
my  donkey  or  the  chickens  again.  My  wife 
did  not  know  where  I  was  for  two  weeks. 

"  While  I  was  working  on  the  bridge;  five 
other  men  whom  I  knew  were  seized  and 
treated  in  the  same  way.  It  is  my  belief 
that  there  is  no  such  law.  They  wanted 
workmen  for  that  bridge  and  that  was  the 
cheapest  way  to  get  them  !  " 

144 


"Where  are  those  other  five  men  who 
were  imprisoned,  too  ?  Have  they  no 
spirit?  "  It  was  the  Tall  Man  who  spoke. 

"They  have  spirit,"  the  man  answered, 
"  but  they  also  have  large  families.  They 
fear  to  leave  them  lest  they  starve.  They 
are  helpless." 

"  Say  rather  they  are  fools,"  said  the  Tall 
Man  when  the  stranger  sat  down.  "Why 
had  they  not  the  spirit  like  you  to  take 
things  in  their  own  hands  —  to  revenge 
their  wrongs  ?  As  for  myself,"  he  went  on, 
"  every  one  knows  my  story. 

"  The  blood  of  my  Indian  ancestors  was 
too  hot  in  my  veins  for  such  slavery --by 
whatever  name  you  call  it.  I  broke  away, 
and  my  name  is  now  a  terror  in  the  region 
that  I  call  mine. 

"It  is  no  worse  to  take  by  violence  than 
by  fraud.  My  land  was  taken  from  me  by 
fraud.  Very  well,  I  take  back  what  I  can 
by  violence.  The  rich  call  us  bandits,  but 
there  is  already  an  army  of  one  thousand 
men  waiting  for  you  to  join  them,  and  we 


call  ourselves  Soldiers  of  the  Revolution. 
We  have  risen  up  to  get  for  ourselves  some 
portion  of  what  we  have  lost. 

"Will  you  not  join  us?  Our  general  is  a 
peon  like  yourselves.  He  feels  our  wrongs 
because  he  has  suffered  them,  and  he  fights 
like  a  demon  to  avenge  them.  Ride  away 
to-night  with  me !  You  shall  see  some- 
thing besides  driving  other  people's  cattle 
-and  being  driven  like  cattle  yourselves  !  " 

The  Tall  Man  stopped  talking  and  waited 
for  an  answer.  No  one  spoke.  The  men 
gazed  silently  into  the  fire  as  if  they  were 
trying  to  think  out  something  that  was  very 
puzzling. 

The  Tall  Man  spoke  again.  "Sons  of 
brave  ancestors,  do  you  know  where  you 
are?"  he  said.  "Do  you  know  what  this 
great  pyramid  is?"  He  pointed  directly  up 
toward  the  cave,  and  Tonio  and  Tita,  who 
had  listened  to  every  word,  instantly  popped 
their  heads  out  of  sight  like  frightened  rab- 
bits. 

"This  stone  mountain  was  built  by  your 
146 


Indian  ancestors  hundreds  of  years  ago.  It 
is  the  burial-place  of  their  dead.  It  is  called 
the  Pyramid  of  the  Moon.  Look  at  it ! 
Have  the  Spaniards  built  anything  greater? 
Mexico  has  many  mighty  monuments  which 
show  the  glory  which  was  ours  before  the 
Spaniards  came. 

"  I  have  seen  the  ruins  of  great  cities  — 
cities  full  of  stone  buildings  covered  with 
wonderful  carvings,  all  speaking  of  the 
magnificence  of  the  days  of  Cuauhtemoc.1 
Here  in  this  place  the  souls  of  those  brave 
ancestors  listen  for  your  answer.  There  are 
many  people  who  do  not  know — who  do 
not  feel  —  who  are  content  to  be  like  the 
sheep  on  the  hillside ;  but  you,  you  know 
your  wrongs,  —  come  with  us  and  avenge 
them !  " 

IV 

The  man  who  had  gone  for  the  wood 
now  spoke.  He  took  up  one  of  the  rifles. 
"See!"  he  said,  "we  have  guns  enough 

1  Kwow'  te-mok.   • 
H7 


for  you,  and  you  have  horses.  It  is  time 
to  start.  The  morning  will  soon  be  here." 

The  men  rose  slowly  from  their  places 
around  the  fire.  Tonio  saw  some  of  them 
glance  fearfully  around  at  the  great  Pyra- 
mid of  the  Moon  in  which  they  were  hid- 
den and  furtively  cross  themselves.  Then 
he  heard  his  father's  voice.  It  was  the  first 
time  Pancho  had  spoken. 

"  I  will  go  with  you,"  said  Pancho.  "  I 
am  no.  sheep.  I,  too,  have  suffered  many 
things.  My  wife  is  a  strong  woman.  She 
will  look  after  the  children  while  I  am  gone. 
I  have  no  fear  for  them." 

When  Tita  heard  her  father  say  these 
dreadful  words  she  almost  screamed,  but 
now  Tonio  clapped  his  hand  over  her 
mouth. 

"  Keep  still,"  he  whispered  in  her  ear. 
41  Those  other  men  might  kill  us  if  they 
knew  we  were  here  and  had  heard  every- 
thing." 

Tita  hid  her  face  on  her  arms,  and  her 
whole  body  shook  with  sobs,  but  she  did 

148 


not  make  a  sound  —  not  even  when  she  saw 
Pancho  and  Pedro  ride  away  with  the  two 
men  whom  they  had  first  seen  by  the  fire. 

Four  of  the  other  men  went  with  them 
too.  The  ones  who  had  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  did  not  go. 

The  children  could  catch  only  a  few 
words  of  what  they  said  when  Pancho  and 
Pedro  and  the  others  rode  away,  but  it 
sounded  like  this:  "  —  Our  wives --our 
children—  we  shall  not  forget  —  by  and  by 
-perhaps  in  the  spring —  "  And  then  they 
heard  the  voice  of  the  Tall  Man  speaking 
very  sharply. 

"  If  you  will  not  go  with  us,  see  that  you 
keep  silence,"  he  said.  "If  any  news  of 
this  gets  about  in  this  region  we  shall  know 
whom  to  blame  and  to  punish !  We  shall 
come  back  and  we  shall  know,"  and  then 
"A  dies'  —  a  dios-  •  a  dios — "  and  the 
hoof-beats  of  horses  as  they  rode  away, 
then  silence  again,  and  the  moon  sailing 
away  toward  the  west,  with  only  the  glow 

1  Ah  dee-os'. 
149 


of  the  dying  coals  to  show  that  any  one 
had  been  there  at  all. 

When  they  were  gone,  the  children  wept 
together  as  if  their  hearts  would  break,  but 
soon  the  birds  began  to  sing,  and  the  sky 
grew  brighter  and  brighter  in  the  east,  and 
the  coming  of  the  sunshine  comforted  them. 

150 


When  it  was  quite  light  they  let  them- 
selves down  out  of  their  nest  and  warmed 
themselves  over  the  coals.  They  had  noth- 
ing to  eat,  of  course,  and  they  did  not  know 
which  way  to  go.  But  Tonio  had  an  idea. 

"Father  and  Pedro  came  from  this  di- 
rection," he  said,  pointing  toward  the  south, 
"and  so  the  hacienda  must  be  somewhere 
over  that  way." 


They  started  bravely  toward  the  south 
and  had  not  gone  far  when  they  struck  a 
rough  road.  Tonio  stooped  down  and  found 
the  fresh  prints  of  Pinto's  hoofs  in  the  mud. 

"This  is  the  way,"  he  cried  joyfully. 
"I  'm  sure  of  it." 

They  walked  on  and  on,  but  they  were 
too  hungry  to  go  very  fast.  By  and  by  they 
sat  down  on  a  stone  to  rest.  They  had  been 
there  only  a  short  time  when  they  heard 
the  beat  of  horses'  hoofs,  and  galloping 
down  'a  hill  they  saw  two  people  on  horse- 
back. One  was  a  lady.  The  other  was  a  man. 


The  children  watched  them  eagerly,  and 
in  a  moment  Tita  sprang  up  and  began  to 
run  towards  them,  shouting  joyfully,  "  It 's 
the  Sefiorita  Carmen  !  " 

Then  Tonio  ran  too.  When  Carmen  saw 
the  two  wild  little  figures  she  shouted  and 
waved  her  hand  to  them,  and  she  and  the 
mozo,1  or  servant,  who  was  on  the  other 
horse,  galloped  as  fast  as  they  could  up  the 
hill  to  meet  them. 

When  they  reached  the  children,  Carmen 
sprang  down  from  her  horse  and  threw  her 
bridle-rein  to  the  mozo.  Then  she  quickly 
opened  a  little  bundle  which  he  handed  her, 
and  gave  the  children  each  a  drink  of  milk, 
and  some  food,  and  all  the  while  she  mur- 
mured comforting  things  to  them. 

11  Poor  little  ones  —  poor  little  souls  !  " 
she  said,  patting  them.  "We  have  been 
looking  for  you,  the  mozo  and  I,  since  day- 
break !  Where  have  you  been,  my  poor 
pigeons  ?  Your  mother  is  nearly  wild  with 
grief!  Tell  me,  have  you  seen  anything  of 

1  Mo'so. 

152 


: 


your  father  or  Pedro  ?  They  have  not  been 
home  either.  We  thought  perhaps  they 
might  be  searching  for  you  too." 

Tonio  and  Tita  both  had  their  hungry 


mouths  so  full  they  could  not  answer  just 
then,  but  when  the  mozo  had  lifted  Tita  up 
on  the  horse  behind  Carmen,  and  had  taken 
Tonio  up  on  his  own  horse,  and  they  were 
on  their  way  home,  they  told  Carmen  and 
the  mozo  just  how  they  got  lost,  only  neither 
one  said  a  single  word  about  their  father  or 
Pedro,  or  the  Tall  Man,  or  the  group  they 
had  seen  around  the  fire. 

They  remembered  what  the  Tall  Man 
had  said  about  coming  back  to  punish  any 
one  who  should  tell  of  the  secret  meeting, 
and  they •  remembered  how  fierce  his  voice 
sounded  as  he  said  it. 

When  at  last  they  rode  into  the  gate  of 
the  hacienda  every  one  was  so  glad  to  see 
them  that  the  Twins  felt  like  heroes. 

Jose  waved  his  hat  and  shouted  when  he 
saw  them  coming,  and  Jasmin  came  tearing 
out  to  meet  them  with  his  tongue  hanging 
out  and  his  tail  stuck  straight  out  behind 
him  like  the  smoke  behind  a  fast  locomotive. 

The  news  spread  quickly  through  the 
village,  and  all  the  boys  and  girls  and  the 


mothers  came  swarming  out  of  their  huts 
to  greet  them  and  to  ask  a  thousand  ques- 
tions about  where  they  had  been. 

The  first  one  to  reach  them  was  Dona 
Teresa.  She  came  running  out  of  the  chapel, 
with  her  rebozo  flying  out  behind  her  al- 
most like  Jasmin's  tail,  and  she  clasped 
them  in  her  arms  and  kissed  them  again 
and  again  and  called  them  her  lambs,  her 
angels,  her  precious  doves. 


She  kissed  the  hands  of  Carmen  and 
thanked  her,  and  then  she  ran  back  with 
the  Twins  to  the  chapel  and  made  them  say 
a  prayer  of  thankfulness  with  her  before  the 
image  of  the  Virgin. 

VI 

It  was  not  until  she  had  them  all  to  her- 
self in  their  little  adobe  hut  that  she  made 
them  tell  her  every  word  about  their  ad- 
venture. Of  course  they  told  their  mother 
everything  —  about  the  fire  and  the  Tall 
Man,  and  the  guns,  and  what  he  said  about 
coming  back  to  punish  any  one  who  told. 

Dona  Teresa  rocked  back  and  forth  on 
her  knees  and  wiped  her  eyes  on  her  apron  as 
she  listened  to  them,  while  at  the  same  time 
she  made  them  hot  chocolate  on  the  brasero. 

As  they  were  drinking  it  she  said  to 
them:  "Listen, my  children.  I  will  tell  you 
a  secret.  Promise  me  first  that  you  will 
never,  never  tell  what  I  am  going  to  tell 
you  now !  " 

The  children  promised. 
156 


Then  Dona  Teresa  went  on:  "I  am  not 
wholly  surprised  at  your  father's  disappear- 
ance. I  knew  he  had  seen  the  Tall  Man.  I 
knew  it  after  Judas  Iscariot's  Day.  The 
Tall  Man  talked  then  with  him  and  Pedro 
and  some  others,  and  asked  them  to  join 
the  Revolution.  I  begged  him  on  my  knees 
not  to  go,  but  he  said :  '  If  I  go  it  is  only  to 
make  things  better  for  us  all.  I  'm  tired  of  this 
life.  Peons  might  just  as  well  be  slaves. ' 

"  What  is  the  Revolution  ?  "  asked  Tonio. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  sobbed  Dona  Te- 
resa. "Your  father  says  it  is  rising  up  to 
fight  against  wrongs  and  oppression.  He 
says  the  Government  is  in  league  with 
the  rich  and  powerful  and  even  with  the 
Church"  -here  Dona  Teresa  crossed  her- 
self- -  "  to  keep  the  poor  people  down,  and 
to  take  away  their  land.  He  says  the  Rev- 
olution is  going  to  give  back  the  land  to 
the  people  and  give  them  a  better  chance. 

"That's  what  the  Tall  Man  told  him. 
But  to  me  it  looks  like  just  adding  to  our 
poverty.  Here  at  least  we  have  a  roof  over 


our  heads,  and  food,  such  as  it  is,  and  I 
could  be  content.  What  good  it  will  do  any 
one  to  go  out  and  get  shot  I  cannot  see,  - 
but  then,  of  course,  I  am  only  a  woman." 
She  finished  with  a  sob. 

"  Father  told  the  Tall  Man  that  you  were 
a  strong  woman  and  that  he  had  no  fear 
for  us  because  you  would  look  after  us 
while  he  is  gone,"  said  Tita. 

"And  so  I  will,  my  lamb,"  said  Dona  Te- 
158 


resa.  "It  is  not  for  nothing  that  I  am  the 
best  ironer  and  the  best  cook  on  the  haci- 
enda. You  shall  not  suffer,  my  pigeons. 
But  you  must  help  me.  You  must  never, 
never,  NEVER  tell  any  one  where  your  father 
has  gone.  Senor  Fernandez  would  be  angry. 
It  might  injure  your  father  very  much.  We 
must  be  silent,  and  work  hard  to  make  up 
for  his  absence.  I  shall  tell  Pedro's  wife. 
She  knows  about  the  Tall  Man,  and  it  was 
the  first  thing  we  both  thought  of  when 
your  father  and  Pedro  did  not  come  home 
last  night.  But  Pablo  does  n't  know  a 
thing  about  it,  and  he  must  not  know.  I  'm 
afraid  Pablo  couldn't  keep  a  secret!" 

This  made  the  Twins  feel  very  grown 
up  and  important.  Perhaps  after  all  their 
father  would  come  back  and  things  would 
be  better  for  them  all,  they  thought.  He 
probably  knew  best,  for  was  he  not  a  man  ? 
And  so  they  lay  down  on  their  hard  beds, 
warmed  and  fed  and  comforted,  and  slept, 
while  Dona  Teresa  went  over  and  told  Pe- 
dro's wife  all  that  the  Twins  had  told  her. 


3V>; 


vl  ••>%  &  .v\^^rxi    >aKyy 
^Vf^S  M;ty  .^1® 


IX 
CHRISTMAS  AT  THE  HACIENDA 

i 

DAYS  and  weeks  and  months  went  by  and 
still  there  was  no  news  of  the  wanderers. 
Dona  Teresa  worked  hard  at  her  washing 
and  cooking,  and  with  the  goat's  milk  and 
the  eggs  managed  to  get  enough  to  feed 
the  Twins  and  herself.  But  the  time  seemed 
long  and  lonely,  and  she  spent  many  hours 
before  the  image  of  the  Virgin  in  the  chapel, 
praying  for  Pancho's  safe  return.  She  even 
paid  the  priest  for  special  prayers,  and  out 
of  her  scanty  earnings  bought  candles  to 
burn  upon  the  altar.  At  last  the  Christmas 
season  drew  near. 

The  celebration  of  Christmas  lasts  for 
more  than  a  whole  week  in  Mexico.  Every 
evening  for  eight  evenings  before  Christ- 
mas all  the  people  in  the  village  met  to- 

161 


gether  and  marched  in  a  procession  all 
round  the  hacienda.  This  procession  is 
called  the  Pasada.1 

Everybody  marched  in  it,  and  when  on 
the  first  evening  they  came  to  the  priest's 
house,  he  came  out  and  stood  beside  his 
door  and  gave  to  each  person  a  lighted 
candle,  which  his  fat  housekeeper  handed 
out  to  him. 

Then  while  all  the  people  stood  there 
with  the  candles  shining  like  little  stars,  he 
told  them  this  story,  to  remind  them  of  the 
meaning  of  the  procession :  - 

"Listen,  my  children,"  he  said.  "Long 
years  ago,  just  before  our  Saviour  was  born, 
Mary,  his  mother,  went  with  Joseph,  her 
husband,  from  the  little  town  of  Nazareth, 
where  they  lived,  into  Judaea.  They  had 
to  make  this  journey  because  a  decree 
had  been  passed  that  every  one  must  be 
taxed. 

"  Joseph  and  the  Blessed  Mother  of  our 
Lord  were  always  obedient  to  the  law,  so 

1  Pah-sah'dah. 
162 


they  went  at  once  to  Bethlehem  in  Judaea, 
which  was  the  place  where  their  names  had 
to  be  enrolled.  My  children,  you  also  should 
obey  in  all  things,  as  they  did.  Discontent 
and  rebellion  should  have  no  place  in  your 
lives, --as  it  had  no  place  in  theirs. 

"  When  Joseph  and  Mary  reached  Beth- 
lehem they  found  the  town  so  full  of  peo- 
ple, who.  had  come  from  far  and  near  for 
this  purpose,  that  there  was  no  room  for 
them  in  the  inn.  For  eight  days  they  wan- 
dered about  seeking  a  place  to  rest  and 
finding  none. 

"  At  last,  on  the  ninth  day,  they  were  so 
weary  that  they  took  shelter  in  a  stable  with 
the  cattle,  and  there  on  that  night  our  Blessed 
Saviour  was  born.  They  were  poorer  than 
you,  my  children,  for  they  had  no  place  to 
lay  their  heads,  and  the  Queen  of  Heaven 
had  only  a  manger  in  which  to  cradle  her 
newborn  son.  It  is  to  commemorate  their 
wanderings  that  you  make  your  Pasada." 

When  the  priest  had  finished  the  story 
the  people  all  marched  away  carrying  their 

163 


candles  and  singing.  Each  night  they 
marched  and  sang  in  this  way  until  at  last 
it  was  Christmas  Eve. 

Dona  Teresa  and  the  twins  went  to  bed 
early  that  night  because  there  was  to  be 
high  mass  in  the  little  chapel  at  midnight. 
Dona  Teresa  slept  with  one  eye  open,  fear- 
ing she  might  be  late,  and  a  few  minutes 
before  twelve  she  was  up  again.  . 

She  washed  the  Twins'  faces  to  wake 
them,  and  then  they  all  three  walked  in  the 
starlight  to  the  little  chapel  near  the  Big 
House.  The  altar  was  blazing  with  lights, 
and  the  floor  was  covered  with  the  dark 
figures  of  kneeling  men  and  women,  as  the 
mother  and  children  went  in  out  of  the 
darkness  and  found  a  place  for  themselves 
in  a  corner  near  the  door. 

When  the  service  was  over,  Dona  Te- 
resa hurried  home  to  set  the  house  in  order 
and  to  prepare  the  Christmas  dinner  for  the 
Twins.  She  had  made  up  her  mind  that  the 
red  rooster  must  surely  be  caught  and 
cooked,  because  she  wanted  to  keep  the 

164 


turkey  until  Pancho  should  be  at  home  to 
share  in  the  feast. 

She  had  planned  it  all  carefully.  "  It  will 
be  quite  easy  to  creep  up  under  the  fig  tree 
while  the  red  rooster  is  asleep  and  seize  him 
by  the  legs,"  she  said  to  the  Twins  as  they 
walked  home  from  the  chapel.  "Only  you 
must  be  very  quiet  indeed  or  he  will  wake  up 
and  crow.  You  know  he  is  a  light  sleeper! " 

They  slipped  through  the  gate  and  into 
the  yard  as  quietly  as  they  could.  They 
reached  the  fig  tree  without  making  a  single 
sound  and  Dona  Teresa  peered  cautiously 
into  the  dark  branches. 

She  saw  a  large  shadow  at  the  end  of  the 
limb  where  the  red  rooster  always  slept 
and,  stretching  her  hand  very  stealthily  up 
through  the  branches,  she  suddenly  grabbed 
him  by  the  legs  — or  she  thought  she  did. 

But  the  owner  of  the  legs  gobbled  loud 
enough  to  wake  every  one  in  the  village,  if 
they  hadn't  been  awake  already! 

"It's  the  turkey,  after  all,"  gasped  Dona 
Teresa.  Just  then  there  was  a  loud  crow 

165 


from  the  roof,  and  they  saw  the  silhouette 
of  the  red  rooster  making  all  haste  to  reach 
the  ridge-pole  and  fly  down  on  the  other  side. 

Dona  Teresa  was  in  despair,  but  she  held 
on  to  the  turkey.  "That  rooster  is  be- 
witched," she  said. 

Just  then  the  turkey  stopped  gobbling 
long  enough  to  peck  vigorously  at  Tonio, 
who  came  to  help  his  mother,  and  Dona 
Teresa  said,  "Well,  then,  we'll  eat  the 
turkey,  anyway,  though  I  had  hoped  to  wait 
until  your  father  gets  home.  But  we  must 
have  something  for  our  Christmas  dinner, 
and  there 's  no  telling  when  we  shall  see  the 
red  rooster  again." 

"  I  should  n't  want  to  eat  the  red  rooster, 
anyway,"  said  Tita.  "  He  seems  just  like  a 
member  of  the  family." 

And  so  the  Christmas  dinner  was  settled 
that  way. 

The  turkey  wasn't  the  only  thing  they 
had.  There  was  rice  soup  first,  then  turkey, 
and  they  had  frijoles,  and  tortillas,  of  course, 
and  bananas  beside,  and  all  the  sweet  pota- 

166 


toes  cooked  in  syrup  that  they  could  pos- 
sibly hold.  It  took  Dona  Teresa  so  long  to 
cook  it  all  on  her  little  brasero  that  she  did  n't 
go  back  to  bed  at  all,  though  the  Twins  had 
another  nap  before  morning. 

They  had  their  dinner  early,  and  when  they 
had  finished  eating,  Tita  said,  "We  must 
give  a  Christmas  dinner  to  the  animals  too." 

So  Tonio  brought  alfalfa  in  from  the  field 
on  purpose  for  Tonto,  and  the  red  rooster 
appeared  in  time  to  share  with  the  hens 
twice  as  much  corn  as  was  usually  given 
them.  The  cat  had  a  saucer  of  goat's  milk, 
and  Tonio  even  found  some  bones  for  Jas- 
min, so  every  single  one  of  them  had  a  happy 
Christmas  Day. 

At  dusk  when  candles  began  to  glimmer 
about  the  village  and  all  the  people  were 
getting  ready  for  the  Christmas  Pasada, 
Dona  Teresa  said  to  the  Twins,  "You  take 
your  candles  and  run  along  with  Pablo.  I 
am  going  to  the  chapel."  And  while  all  the 
other  people  marched  round  among  the  cab- 
ins, singing,  she  stayed  on  her  knees  before 

167 


the  image  of  the  Virgin,  praying  once  more 
for  Pancho's  safe  return. 

When  they  reached  the  priest's  house, 
the  priest  himself  joined  the  procession  and 
marched  at  the  head  of  it,  bearing  in  his 
hands  large  wax  images  of  the  Holy  Family. 
Behind  him  came  Lupito,  the  young  vaque- 
ro  who  had  taken  Pancho's  place  on  the 
hacienda,  with  his  new  wife,  and  following 
them,  if  you  had  been  there,  you  might  have 
seen  Pedro's  wife  and  baby,  and  Rafael  and 
Jose  and  Dona  Josefa,  and  Pablo  and  the 
Twins  with  Juan  and  Ignacio  and  a  crowd 
of  other  children  and  grown  people  whose 
names  I  cannot  tell  you  because  I  do  not 
know  them  all. 

As  they  passed  the  chapel,  Dona  Teresa 
came  out  and  slipped  into  line  behind  the 
Twins.  If  she  had  been  looking  in  the  right 
direction  just  at  that  minute  she  might  have 
seen  two  dark  figures  come  out  from  behind 
some  bushes  near  the  priest's  house,  and 
though  they  had  no  candles,  fall  in  at  the 
end  of  the  procession  and  march  with  them 

1 68 


&      / 


iiMU  "t 
fc\v.\n' 

e.'  '.  '•     v 


fc^,^ 


to  the  entrance  of  the  Big  House.  But  she 
kept  her  eyes  on  her  candle,  which  she  was 
afraid  might  be  blown  out  by  the  wind. 

When  they  reached  the  doorway  every 
one  stopped  while  Lupito  and  his  new  wife 
sang  a  song  saying  that  the  night  was  cold 
and  dark  and  the  wind  was  blowing,  and 
asking  for  shelter,  just  as  if  they  were  Jo- 

169 


seph  and  Mary,  and  the  Big  House  were 
the  inn  in  Bethlehem. 

Then  a  voice  came  from  the  inside  of  the 
Big  House  as  if  it  were  the  innkeeper  him- 
self answering  Joseph  and  Mary.  It  was 
really  the  mozo's  voice,  and  it  said,  No, 
they  could  not  come  in,  that  there  was  no 
more  room  in  the  inn. 

Then  Lupito  and  his  wife  sang  again  and 
told  the  innkeeper  that  she  who  begged  ad- 
mittance and  had  not  where  to  lay  her 
head,  was  indeed  the  Queen  of  Heaven. 

At  this  name  the  door  was  flung  wide 
open,  and  the  priest,  bearing  the  images  of 
the  Virgin  and  Child  and  Joseph,  entered 
with  Lupito  and  all  the  others  singing  be- 
hind him. 

The  priest  led  the  procession  through  the 
entrance  arch  to  the  patio,  and  there  he 
placed  the  images  in  a  shrine,  all  banked 
with  palms  and  flowering  plants,  which  had 
been  placed  in  the  patio  on  purpose  to  re- 
ceive them. 

Then  he  lifted  his  hand  and  prayed,  and 
170 


blessed  the  people,  and  the  whole  proces- 
sion passed  in  front  of  the  images,  each  one 
kneeling  before  them  long  enough  to  leave 
his  lighted  candle  stuck  in  a  little  frame- 
work before  the  shrine.  Senpr  Fernandez 
and  his  wife  Carmen  watched  the  scene 
from  one  end  of  the  patio. 

Dona  Teresa  and  the  Twins  were  among 
171 


the  first  ones  to  leave  their  candles,  and 
afterward  they  stood  under  the  gallery 
which  ran  around  the  patio,  to  watch  the 
rest  of  the  procession. 

Everything  was  quiet  until  this  was  done, 
because  this  part  of  Christmas  was  just  like 
a  church  service.  One  by  one  the  people 
knelt  before  the  images,  crossed  themselves, 
and  joined  the  group  under  the  gallery. 
Last  of  all  came  the  two  dark  figures  with- 
out any  candles. 

Up  to  that  moment  they  had  lingered 
behind  the  others  in  the  background,  and 
had  kept  as -much  as  possible  in  the  shadow, 
but  now  they  stood  right  in  front  of  the  Holy 
Family  with  all  the  candles  shining  directly 
into  their  brown  faces  —  and  who  should 
they  be  but  Pancho  and  Pedro  come  back 
from  the  war  ? 

ii 

The  moment  she  saw  Pancho,  Dona  Te- 
resa gave  a  loud  scream  of  joy,  and  then 
she  rushed  right  by  every  one  —  almost 

172 


stepping  on  the  toes  of  the  priest  himself  — 
and  threw  her  arms  around  his  neck,  while 
the  Twins,  who  got  there  almost  as  soon 
as  she  did,  clasped  an  arm  or  a  leg,  or  what- 
ever part  of  their  father  they  could  get  hold  of. 

At  the  same  time  Pedro's  wife,  with  her 
baby  on  her  arm  and  Pablo  beside  her, 
made  a  dash  for  Pedro,  but  Pablo  got  there 
first  because,  you  remember,  his  mother 
was  fat.  And  Pedro  was  so  glad  to  see 
them  he  tried  to  hug  her  and  the  baby  both 
at  once,  while  Pablo  hung  round  his  neck, 
only  as  he  was  a  small  man  he  could  n't  be- 
gin to  reach  round,  and  had  to  take  them 
one  at  a  time  after  all. 

Everybody  was  so  glad  to  see  Pancho 
and  Pedro,  and  so  glad  for  the  happiness 
that  had  come  to  their  wives  and  children 
on  Christmas  Day  that  everybody  shook 
hands  with  everybody  else,  and  talked  and 
asked  questions  without  waiting  for  any- 
body to  answer  them,  until  it  sounded  al- 
most like  the  animals  on  San  Ramon's  Day. 

After   Pancho    and    Pedro   had  greeted 


their  families,  and  had  said  how  Pablo  and 
the  Twins  had  grown,  and  Pedro's  wife  had 
told  him  that  the  baby  had  six  teeth,  and 
the  baby  had  bitten  Pedro's  finger  to  prove 
it,  he  and  Pancho  broke  away  from  them 
and  went  to  pay  their  respects  to  Senor 
Fernandez  and  the  priest,  who  were  stand- 
ing together,  talking  in  low  tones  and 
watching  the  crowd  round  the  wanderers. 


Pancho  and  Pedro  had  reason  to  dread 
what  Sefior  Fernandez  and  the  priest  might 
say  to  them.  They  thought  the  priest  might 
say,  "Is  this  obedience,  my  sons?"  and 
they  thought  very  possibly  Senor  Fernan- 
dez might  say  something  like  this:  "Well, 
my  men,  do  you  think  you  can  play  fast 
and  loose  with  your  job  like  that  ?  You  '11 
have  to  learn  a  hacienda  can't  be  run  that 
way.  There  's  plenty  of  other  help,  so  you 
may  see  if  you  can  find  work  elsewhere." 

But  as  they  came  before  Senor  Fernan- 
dez and  bowed  humbly  with  their  sombre- 
ros in  their  hands,  the  priest  glanced  at 
their  ragged  clothes  and  their  thin  faces 
and  said  something  in  a  low  tone  to  Senor 
Fernandez,  and  although  Pancho  and  Pe- 
dro listened  they  could  n't  hear  a  word  of 
it  except  "Christmas  Day." 

Senor  Fernandez  gazed  at  them  rather 
sternly  for  a  moment  without  speaking  and 
then  he  said:  "Well,  Pancho  and  Pedro, 
I  suppose  you  've  been  out  seeing  the  world, 
and  would  like  to  have  your  old  jobs  back 

'75 


again,  eh  ?  You  don't  deserve  it,  you  rascals, 
but  I  think  I  can  use  the  men  who  have 
taken  your  places  elsewhere  on  the  haci- 
enda, so  if  you  like  you  can  take  your  boat 
again  the  first  of  the  year,  Pedro ;  and  Pan- 
cho,  you  can  begin  your  rounds  next  week. 
Now,  go  and  enjoy  yourselves  with  your 
families!  " 

And  if  you  '11  believe  me,  he  never  even 
asked  them  where  they  had  been !  Pancho 
and  Pedro  went  back  to  their  wives,  who 
were  watching  the  interview  anxiously  from 
the  other  side  of  the  patio,  and  the  wives 
knew  the  moment  they  saw  the  men's  faces 
that  everything  was  all  right  and  they  could 
be  happy  once  more. 

The  rest  of  the  people  had  already  gone 
into  the  dining-room  of  the  Big  House  and 
were  eagerly  watching  a  great  earthenware 
boat  that  hung  from  the  middle  of  the  ceil- 
ing. They  knew  that  the  boat  was  full  of 
good  things  to  eat.  Beside  the  boat  stood 
pretty  Carmen  with  a  long  stick  in  one 
hand  and  a  white  cloth  in  the  other. 

176 


As  Pancho  and  Pedro  with  their  wives 
and  Pedro's  baby  came  into  the  room,  she 
was  saying:  "Now,  I'll  blindfold  each  of 
you,  one  at  a  time,  and  you  must  whack 
the  pinata1  real  hard  or  nothing  at  all  will 
happen  !  I  '11  begin  !  " 

1  Pin-yah'tah. 
177 


She  tied  the  cloth  about  her  own  eyes, 
turned  round  three  times,  and  then  struck 
out  with  the  stick.  But  she  did  n't  come 
anywhere  near  the  pinata.  Instead  she 
nearly  cracked  Jose's  head! 

Everybody  laughed,  and  then  it  was  Lu- 
pito's  turn.  Lupito  was  a  great  man  at 
roping  bulls,  or  breaking  wild  horses,  but 
he  could  n't  hit  the  boat  with  his  eyes  cov- 
ered any  better  than  Carmen  had. 

Then  Jose  tried.   He  struck  the  pinata  - 
but  it  was  only  a  love-pat.  The  boat  swung 
back    and    forth  a  little,   but   not  a  thing 
dropped  overboard. 

At  last  Carmen  cried  out,"  Come,  Tonio, 
see  if  you  have  not  a  better  aim  than  the 
rest  of  us." 

Tonio  stepped  boldly  into  the  middle  of 
the  room  and  Carmen  bandaged  his  eyes, 
turned  him  round  and  gave  him  the  stick. 
Tonio  knew  what  was  in  that  boat,  and  he 
was  bound  to  get  it  out  if  he  could,  so  he 
struck  out  with  a  kind  of  sideways  sweep 
and  struck  the  ship  whack  on  the  prow ! 

178 


It  was  made  of  earthenware  on  purpose 
SO  it  would  break  easily,  and  the  moment 
Tonio  struck  it  there  was  a  crashing  sound, 
and  then  a  perfect  rain  of  cakes  and  candies, 
and  bananas,  and  oranges,  and  peanuts,  and 
other  goodies  which  fell  all  over  the  floor, 
and  it  wasn't  two  minutes  before  every 
one  in  the  room  had  his  mouth  full  and 
both  hands  sticky. 

Dona  Teresa  and  Pancho  watched  the 
fun  for  a  while,  and  then  Dona  Teresa 
whispered  to  Pancho:  "My  angel,  when 
did  you  eat  last?  You  look  hungry." 

Pancho  at  that  very  moment  had  his 
mouth  full  of  banana,  but  he  managed  to 
say:  "Last  night  I  had  some  tortillas.  I 
have  had  nothing  since  until  now." 

"Bless  my  soul!"  cried  Dona  Teresa. 
"Come  home  with  me  at  once.  Thanks  be 
to  the  Holy  Virgin,  you'll  share  the  turkey 
with  us  after  all !  I  had  to  cook  him  because 
we  couldn't  catch  the  rooster!  Tell  the 
Twins  and  come  right  along." 


179 


III 

So  while  the  guitars  were  tinkling  and 
the  rest  of  the  people  were  still  singing  and 
dancing  and  having  the  merriest  kind  of  a 
merry  Christmas,  Pancho  and  his  family 
said  good-night  politely  to  Senor  Fernandez 
and  his  wife  and  slipped  quietly  away  to 
the  little  adobe  hut  under  the  fig  tree. 

When  they  were  inside  their  little  home 
once  more,  Dona  Teresa  made  a  fire  in  the 

1 80 


brasero  and  heated  some  of  the  turkey  for 
Pancho,  and  while  he  ate,  Tonio  and  Tita 
stood  on  each  side  of  their  one  chair,  in 
which  he  sat,  and  listened  with  their  eyes 
and  mouths  both  while  their  father  told  about 
his  adventures  as  a  Soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. And  then  they  told  him  all  about  the 
night  they  were  lost,  and  the  secret  meeting, 
and  he  was  so  astonished  that  he  could 
hardly  believe  they  had  not  dreamed  it  until 
Tita  told  him  just  what  the  Tall  Man  had 
said,  and  what  Pedro  had  said,  and  about 
the  pebble  that  rolled  down. 

Then  he  said,  "Have  you  told  any  one 
about  this?" 

And  Dona  Teresa  answered  proudly, 
"Not  a  soul.  Not  even  the  priest." 

"You've  done  well,  then,"  Pancho  said. 
"The  Tall  Man  punishes  those  who  spoil 
his  plans  by  talking  of  them.  He  has  raised 
an  army  of  two  thousand  men  in  such  ways. 
We  enlisted  for  only  four  months,  and  in 
that  time  we  turned  the  region  to  the  south 
of  us  altogether  into  the  hands  of  the  Revo- 

181 


lutionists.  I  intended  to  return  home  at  the 
end  of  the  four  months,  but  finally  stayed 
a  month  more  to  finish  the  campaign." 

"  I  knew  you  would  come  some  time,  my 
angel,"  cried  Dona  Teresa.  "  I  have  prayed 
every  day  before  the  Virgin  for  your  safe 
return." 

"As  God  wills  it,"  Pancho  answered  so- 
berly. "I  meant  at  any  rate  to  strike  my 
blow  for  freedom,  and  to  try  to  make  things 
better  for  us  all." 

"Well,  have  you?"  asked  Dona  Teresa. 

Pancho  scratched  his  head  with  the  old 
puzzled  expression  on  his  face.  "I  don't 
know,"  he  said  at  last.  "Things  are  not 
right  as  they  are,  —  I  know  that,  —  and  they 
never  will  be  right  if  no  one  ever  complains 
or  protests  or  makes  any  fuss  about  it.  And 
I  know,  too,  that  these  uprisings  never  will 
stop  until  Mexico  is  better  governed,  and 
poor  people  have  the  chance  they  long  for 
and  do  not  know  how  to  get  for  themselves. 
It  is  something  just  to  keep  things  stirred 
up.  Perhaps  some  time  Tonio  here  ran 

182 


think  out  what  ought  to  be  done.  He  may 
even  be  a  great  general  some  day." 

"Heaven  forbid!"  cried  Dona  Teresa. 
She  almost  upset  Pancho's  dish,  she  was 
so  emphatic.  "There  has  been  enough  of 
going  to  war  in  this  family!" 

"Well,"  said  Pancho,  "war  isn't  very 
pleasant.  I  Ve  seen  enough  of  it  to  know 
that:  but  peace  isn't  very  pleasant  either, 
when  your  life  is  without  hope  and  you 
must  live  like  the  animals  —  if  you  live  at 
all." 

"  Now  that  I  have  you  at  home  again,  I, 
for  one,  am  quite  content, ' '  said  Dona  Teresa; 
and  then  she  went  to  unroll  the  mats  and 
put  the  children  to  bed. 

They  were  so  tired  that  they  went  to 
sleep  in  their  corner  in  no  time  at  all,  and 
when  she  had  snuffed  the  candles  before 
the  Virgin,  Dona  Teresa  came  back  to  Pan- 
cho and  sat  with  him  beside  the  embers  still 
glowing  in  the  brasero. 

She  told  him  everything  that  had  hap- 
pened on  the  hacienda  while  he  was  away, 

183 


and  Pancho  told  her  all  the  strange  sights 
he  had  seen,  and  the  new  things  he  had 
learned,  and  at  last  he  said:  — 

"Anyway,  I've  made  up  my  mind  that 
Tonio  shall  have  more  learning  than  he  can 
get  on  this  hacienda,  though  I  don't  know 
yet  how  it  can  be  brought  about.  Some- 
how children  must  know  more  than  their 
parents  if  things  are  ever  to  be  better  for 
the  poor  people  of  Mexico." 

And  Dona  Teresa  answered,  "Well,  any- 
way, we  have  each  other  and  the  Twins,  so 
let's  take  comfort  in  that,  right  now,  even 
if  there  are  many  things  in  the  world  that 
can't  be  set  right  yet  awhile." 

Just  then  the  first  streak  of  dawn  showed 
red  over  the  eastern  hills.  Out  in  the  fig 
tree  the  red  rooster  shook  himself  and 
crowed,  and  to  Pancho,  as  he  stretched  him- 
self on  his  own  hard  bed  in  his  own  poor 
little  home  once  more,  it  sounded  exactly  as  if 
he  said, 

"  Cock-a-doodle-do-oo. 
We  're  glad  to  see  you-oo-oo." 


SUGGESTIONS  TO   TEACHERS 

THIS  is  the  fifth  volume  in  the  "  Twins  Series  "  of  sup- 
plementary readers.  The  preceding  books  are  devoted, 
respectively,  to  the  Eskimo,  the  Dutch,  the  Japanese,  and 
the  Irish.  "The  Mexican  Twins"  aims  to  establish  a 
better  understanding  of  a  neighboring  country,  and  to 
foster  a  kindly  feeling  for  its  people. 

To  arouse  the  children's  interest  and  thus  to  make  the 
reading  of  this  story  most  valuable  as  a  school  exercise, 
it  is  suggested  that  at  the  outset  the  children  be  allowed 
to  look  at  the  pictures  in  the  book  in  order  to  get  ac- 
quainted'with  "Antonio"  and  "Margarita"  and  with  the 
scenes  illustrating  their  home  life  and  surroundings. 

During  the  reading,  point  out  Mexico  on  a  map  of  the 
world  or  on  a  globe,  and  tell  the  children  something 
about  the  unique  character  of  the  country,  thus  connecting 
this  supplementary  reading  material  with  the  work  in 
geography. 

The  text  is  so  simply  written  that  any  fifth  or  sixth 
grade  child  can  read  it  without  much  preparation.  In 
the  fifth  grade  it  may  be  well  to  have  the  children  read 
it  first  in  a  study  period  in  order  to  work  out  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  more  difficult  words.  In  the  sixth  grade 
the  children  can  usually  read  it  at  sight,  without  the  prep- 
aratory study.  The  possibilities  in  the  story  for  drama- 
tization and  for  language  and  constructive  work  will  be 
immediately  apparent. 

In  connection  with  the  reading  of  the  book,  teachers 
should  read  or  tell  to  the  children  stories  of  Mexican  life 


and  history.  Material  which  may  readily  be  adapted  to 
this  use  will  be  found  in  Baylor's  Juan  and  Juanita,  and 
in  Green's  Boy  Fugitives  in  Mexico.  Terry's  Mexico,  a 
guide-book,  will  be  of  invaluable  assistance  to  the  teacher 
through  the  facts  which  it  presents  and  their  correlation. 
Prescott's  Conquest  of  Mexico  also  presents  a  wealth  of 
suggestion.  Let  the  children  bring  to  class  postcards  and 
other  pictures  of  scenes  in  Mexico. 

The  unique  illustrations  should  be  much  used,  both  in 
the  reading  of  the  story  and  in  other  ways.  Children 
will  enjoy  sketching  some  of  them ;  their  simple  treatment 
makes  them  especially  useful  for  this  purpose. 

The  book  is  printed  on  paper  which  will  take  water 
color  well,  and  where  books  are  individually  owned  some 
of  the  sketches  could  be  used  for  coloring  in  flat  washes. 
They  also  afford  suggestions  for  action  sketching  by  the 
children. 

An  excellent  oral  language  exercise  would  be  for  the 
children,  after  they  have  read  the  story,  to  take  turns 
telling  the  story  from  the  illustrations ;  and  a  good  com- 
position exercise  would  be  for  each  child  to  select  the 
illustration  that  he  would  like  to  write  upon,  make  a 
sketch  of  it,  and  write  the  story  in  his  own  words. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  ways  that  will  occur 
to  resourceful  teachers  for  making  the  book  a  valuable  as 
well  as  an  enjoyable  exercise  in  reading. 


"A  Step  Forward  In  Heading' 


THE  RIVERSIDE  READERS 

EDITED  BY 

JAMES  H.  VAN  SICKLE 

Suftrintindtnt  of  Schttli,  Sfringfitld^  Man. 
AND 

WILHELMINA  SEEGMILLER 

Lot*  Dirtcto'  »f Art^Indianafolii.      Formerly  Princifal  of  tht  W*altty  Avtnni  Pub- 
lic Schttl,  Grand  Rafidi,  Mich. 

ASSISTED  BV 

FRANCES  JENKINS 

Inilructtr  in  Elimtntarj  Education,  Ctlltgt  for  Ttachirt,  Univtrtitr  tf  Cincinnati. 
Formtrlj  Suftrviitr  tf  Elimtntarj  Grades,  Dtiatur,  III. 

ILLUSTRATED  BY 

RUTH  MARY  HALLOCK  CLARA  E.  ATWOOD 

MAGINEL  WRIGHT  ENRIGHT      £.  BOYD  SMITH 
HOWARD  PYLE,  and  other  notable  artists 

Fresh  Material 

These  Readers  contain  an  unusually  large  amount  of  frith  <tf)  right  id  mattrial 
taken  from  the  world's  best  literature  for  children. 

Latest  Teaching  Methods 

They  represent  the  latest  developments  in  the  methods  of  teaching  reading,  the 
kind  of  teaching  that  will  be  found  in  the  best  schools  of  to-day. 

Artistic  Make-up 

Artistically  the  books  will  set  a  new  standard  in  textbook  making.  The  colored 
illustrations  of  the  primary  books  are  particularly  attractive. 

Mechanical  Features 

The  paper  used  in  the  books,  the  type  for  each  grade,  and  the  dimensions  and 
arrangement  of  the  type  page  were  all  determined  by  careful  experimenting,  in  ordei 
to  safeguard  the  eyesight  of  children. 

StnJftr  omflttt  illustrated  circular. 

PRIMER  FOURTH  READER 

FIRST  READER  FIFTH  READER 

SECOND  READER  SIXTH  READER 

THIRD  READER  SEVENTH  READER 

EIGHTH  READER 


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The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Readers 

By  EMMA  MILLER  BOLENIUS 
"  Train  your  Pupils  in  Silent  Reading  " 


Fourth  Reader  Sixth  Reader 

Fifth  Reader  Teachers'  Manual 


C.  A  series  of  basal  readers  for  the  Fourth,  Fifth,  and 
Sixth  Grades  — •  the  crucial  years  in  gaining  skill  in  silent 
reading,  and  fluency  in  oral  reading. 

C.  Miss  Bolenius,  widely  recognized  as  an  expert,  has  been 
guided  by  her  study  of  the  most  authoritative  and  up-to-date 
reports,  investigations,  courses  of  study,  and  surveys. 

C.  In  the  three  Readers  there  is  full  study  equipment 
with  each  article,  story,  or  poem.  Into  this  equipment, 
the  editor  has  succeeded  in  bringing  her  own  personal  touch. 
She  makes  reading  a  delight  for  both  pupil  and  teacher. 

C.  Four  major  objects  of  the  Bolenius  Readers  are: 

(i)  To  direct  silent  reading,  (2)  To  motivate  oral  reading, 
(3)  To  develop  the  reading  habit  in  children,  and  (4)  To 
broaden  the  child's  outlook  on  life. 

C.  Practical  everyday  reading  of  various  kinds  is  stressed. 
The  illustrations  are  full  of  teaching  value  and  appeal. 
Typographical  aids  make  reading  easier  for  the  child.  How 
to  study  is  given  special  attention,  and  supervised  study 
has  been  developed  in  an  entirely  new  way. 

C.  In  the  Teachers1  Manual  there  is  help  so  concrete  that 
even  inexperienced  teachers  will  secure  results.  It  preser  5 
&  practical  methodology  for  silent  reading. 


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SUPPLEMENTARY  READERS 

GRADE   I 

The  Hiawatha  Primer.     By  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK. 
The  Dutch  Twins  Primer.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 

GRADE   II 

The  Book  of  Nature  Myths.     By  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK. 
The  Doers.     By  WILLIAM  JOHN  HOPKINS. 
The  Eskimo  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS.  ' 
Kittens  and  Cats.     By  EULALIE  OSGOOD  GROVER. 
Opera  Stories  from  Wagner.     By  FLORENCE  AKIN. 
Children's     Classics    in     Dramatic    Form.     By   AUGUSTA 
STEVENSON.    Book  One. 

GRADE  III 

Book  of  Fables  and  Folk  Stories.     By  H.  E.  SCUDDER. 
The  Dutch  Twins.  By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 
Famous  Old  Tales.     Edited  by  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE. 
Little-Folk  Lyrics.     By  F.  D.  SHERMAN. 
Three  Years  with  the  Poets.     Edited  by  BERTHA  HAZARD. 
Children's    Classics    in    Dramatic    Form.      By    AUGUSTA 
STEVENSON.     Book  Two. 

GRADE   IV 

"I  Am  An  American."    By  SARA  CONE  BRYANT. 

The  Cave  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 

The  Japanese  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 

Home  Life  Around  the  World.     By  G.  A.  MIRICK  and  BURTON 

HOLMES. 

Stories  from  the  Arabian  Nights.     Edited  by  S.  ELIOT. 
Northland  Heroes.     By  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK. 
Old  Ballads  in  Prose.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 
A  Book  of  Fairy-Tale  Bears.   Edited  by  CLIFTON  JOHNSON. 
Little  Bird  Blue.  By  W.  L.  and  IRENE  FINI.EY. 
Children's    Classics    in    Dramatic    Form.     By   AUGUSTA 

STEVENSON.    Book  Three. 

GRADE  V 

The  Spartan  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 
The  Belgian  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 
The  Irish  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 
The  Mexican  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 
The  Little  Book  of  the  Flag.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 
Stories  of  Patriotism.     By  NORMA  H.  DEMING. 
In  the  Days  of  Giants.  By  ABBIE  FARWELL  BROWN. 
Sinopah,  the  Indian  Boy.    By  JAMES  W.  SCHULTZ. 
Children's    Classics    in    Dramatic    Form.      By    AUGUSTA 
STEVENSON.    Book  Four. 

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1717 


GRADE  VI 

The  Scotch  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 

The  Mexican  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 

The  French  Twins.     By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS. 

Wild  Animal  Ways.    By  ERNEST  THOMPSON  SETON. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  (Sixth  Grade). 

Letters  from  Colonial  Children.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

Little  Book  of  the  Flag.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

Our  European  Ancestors.    By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

Golden   Numbers.    Edited    by  KATE    DOUGLAS    WIGGIN    and 

NORA  A.  SMITH. 

Story  of  the  Roman  People.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 
Story  of  the  Greek  People.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 
Dramatized  Scenes   from  American   History.     By  AUGUSTA 

STEVENSON. 
Industrial  Readers.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

The  Farmer  and  His  'Friends  —  Diggers  in  the  Earth  —  Makers  of 

Many  Things  —  Travelers  and  Traveling. 

GRADE  VII 

The  Patriotic  Reader.  By  K.  I.  BEMIS,  M.  E.  HOLTZ,  and  H.  L. 
SMITH. 

Bird  Stories  from  Burroughs.     By  JOHN  BURROUGHS. 

Squirrels  and  Other  Fur- Bearers.     By  JOHN  BURROUGHS. 

Representative  Cities.    By  CAROLINE  W.  HOTCHKISS. 

Bird- Ways.    By  OLIVE  THORNE  MILLER. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  (-jth  Grade). 

Children's  Classics  in  Dramatic  Form.    By  AUGUSTA  STEVEN- 
SON.   Book  Five. 

American  Classics. 

Heroes  Every  Child  Should  Know.    By  HAMILTON  WRIGXJT 
MABIE. 

Fall  of  the  Year.    By  DALLAS  LORE  SHARP. 

Winter.     By  DALLAS  LORE  SHARP. 

Spring  of  the  Year.    By  DALLAS  LORE  SHARP. 

Summer.     By  DALLAS  LORE  SHARP. 

Old  World  Hero  Stories.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

The  Little  Book  of  the  War.     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

Up  from  Slavery.    By  BOOKER  T.  WASHINGTON. 
GRADE  via 

Coal  and  the  Coal  Mines.    By  HOMER  GREENE. 

Brave  Little  Holland.    By  WILLIAM  E.  GRIFFIS. 

The  Odyssey  of  Homer.     (Bryant's  Translation.) 

New  England  Girlhood.     By  LUCY  LARCOM. 

Masterpieces  of  American  Literature. 

Masterpieces  of  British  Literature. 

Melodies  of  English  Verse.      By  LEWIS  KENNEDY  MORSE. 

Book  of  Famous  Verse.    By  AGNES  REPPLIER. 

Riverside  Art  Series.     12  volumes. 

Riverside  Biographical  Series.     14  volumes. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  (8tA  Grade). 

The  British  Isles.    By  EVERETT  T.  TOMLINSON. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

'945 


CHILDREN'S   CLASSICS   IN 
DRAMATIC  FORM 

BOOK  ONE  —  For  First  and  Second  Grade* 
BOOK  TWO  —  For  Second  and  Third  Grades. 
BOOK  THREE  —  For  Third  and  Fourth  Grades. 
BOOK  FOUR  —  For  Fifth  and  Sixth  Grades. 
BOOK  FIVE  —  For  Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades. 


DRAMATIZED  SCENES  FROM  AMERICAN  HISTORY 
For  Sixth  to  Eighth  Grades. 

By  AUGUSTA  STEVENSON 

Formerly  a  Teacher  in  the  Indianapolis  Public  Schools 

These  books  accomplish  three  important  functions :  —  first. 
they  arouse  a  greater  interest  in  oral  reading;  second,  they 
develop  an  expressive  voice;  and  third,  they  give  freedom 
and  grace  in  the  bodily  attitudes  and  movements  involved 
in  reading  and  speaking. 

The  use  of  these  books  will  greatly  improve  the  oral 
reading;  in  your  schools.  In  these  days,  when  so  many  books 
are  hastily  read  in  school,  there  is  a  tendency  to  sacrifice  ex- 
pression to  the  mechanics  and  interpretation  of  reading. 
Those  acquainted  with  school  work  know  too  well  the  resulting 
monotonous,  indistinct  speech  and  the  self-conscious,  listless 
attitude  which  characterize  so  much  of  the  reading  of  pupils 
in  grades  above  the  third.  The  dramatic  appeal  of  the  stories 
in  this  book  will  cause  the  child  to  lose  himself  in  the  char- 
acter he  is  impersonating,  and  to  read  with  a  naturalness  and 
expressiveness  unknown  to  him  before;  and  this  improvement 
will  be  evident  in  all  his  oral  reading  and  even  in  his  speech. 

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THE  TWINS  SERIES 

By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS 

THIS  series  of  supplementary  reading  books  aims 
to  picture  vividly  the  life  and  conditions  in  countries 
whose  children  have  come  to  form  a  numerous  portion 
of  our  own  population,  or  in  whose  history  America 
has  a  keen  interest,  and  to  foster  a  kindly  feeling  and 
a  deserved  respect  for  the  various  nations. 

Geographical  Series 

The  Dutch  Twins  Primer,  Grade      I. 


The  Dutch  Twins 
The  Eskimo  Twins 
The  Japanese  Twins 
The  Irish  Twins 
The  Mexican  Twins 
The  Belgian  Twins 
The  French  Twins 


III. 

II. 
IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VI. 

VII. 


Historical  Series 

The  Cave  Twins  Grade         IV. 

The  Spartan  Twins  "     III,  IV. 

Each  Volume  is  illustrated  by  the  author 


OPERA  STORIES  FROM  WAGNER 
By  FLORENCE  AKIN 

Primary  Teacher  in  the  Irvington  School,  Portland,  Oregon 
Illustrated  by  E.  PoLLAK-OfTENDORFP. 

Miss  Akin  here  interprets  for  the  child  one  of  the  world's  literary 
masterpieces.  In  simple,  conversational  style  so  much  enjoyed  by 
children,  she  tells  the  four  stories  of  Wagner's  The  Nibelung  Ring, 
which  weaves  into  one  the  strange  and  beautiful  myths  and  legends 
of  Northern  Europe.  From  the  heart  of  the  race  they  bear  their 
lesson  of  good  and  evil.  The  text  is  especially  adapted  to  the  devel- 
opment of  expression  and  to  dramatization.  Careful  consideration 
has  been  given  to  the  selection  of  words,  that  they  may  not  require 
too  much  explanation  by  the  teacher,  and  yet  may  afford  reasonable 
growth  for  the  child's  vocabulary.  The  book  is  planned  for  use  in 
the  second  and  third  grades. 

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1720 


By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN 

The  Farmer  and  his  Friends 
•Diggers  in  the  Earth 
Makers  of  Many  Things 
Travelers  and  Traveling 

These  books  meet  the  general  school  demand  for  reading 
which  gives  the  child  an  elementary  knowledge  of  the  origin 
of  common  things. 

The  Industrial  Readers  show  the  basic  value  of  farming 
and  mining,  the  ways  in  which  the  products  of  the  earth  are 
made  usable,  and  the  importance  of  means  of  transportation. 
Through  this  discussion  of  "everyday"  labor  the  pupil 
comes  to  see  the  interdependence  and  value  of  all  forms  of 
the  world's  work,  and  gains  valuable  knowledge  that  no  other 
sf.t  of  readers  on  the  market  can  supply  —  an  understanding 
of  the  economic  and  industrial  background  of  his  life. 

HOW  TO  MAKE  THE 
GARDEN  PAY 

A  Manual  for  the  Intensive  Cultivation  of  Small 
Vegetable  Gardens 

By  EDWARD  MORRISON  AND 
CHARLES  THOMAS  BRUES 

TUs  book  is  written  in  simple,  clear  English  that  children 
Jn  the  grammar  grades  may  read  easily.  The  authors  have  had 
long  experience  with  intensive  home  gardening  and  here  pre- 
sent the  essential  information  that  will  enable  those  unfamiliar 
with  gardening  to  plan  for  a  garden  that  will  utilize  the  avail- 
able space  to  the  greatest  possible  advantage,  to  raise  vegeta- 
bles that  will  prove  most  serviceable  for  home  use,  and  to 
lake  the  garden  increasingly  valuable,  year  after  year. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1939 


GEOGRAPHICAL  READERS 

Home  Life  Around  the  World. 

By  GEORGE  A.  MIRICK.    With  illustrations  from  photographs  by 
BURTON  HOLMES. 

The  Twins  Series  of  Geographical  Readers. 

By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS.     Illustrated  by  the  author. 

The  Dutch  Twins  Primer.  —  The  Eskimo  Twins.  —  The 
Dutch  Twins.  —  The  Japanese  Twins.  —  The  Irish  Twins. — • 
The  Mexican  Twins.  —  The  Belgian  Twins.  —  The  French 
Twins. 

Representative  Cities  of  the  United  States. 

By  CAROLINE  W.  HOTCHKISS.    Grades  VII  and  VIII.    Illus 
trated. 

The  British  Isles. 

By  EVERETT  T.  TOMLINSON.  Grades  VII  and  VIII.  Illustrated 


INDUSTRIAL  READERS 

America  at  Work. 

By  JOSEPH  HUSBAND. 

The  Industrial  Readers. 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN.    Illustrated. 

The  Farmer  and  His  Friends.  —  Diggers  in  the  Earth.— 
Makers  of  Many  Things.  —  Travelers  and  Traveling. 

HISTORICAL  READERS 

The  Twins  Series  of  Historical  Readers. 

By  LUCY  FITCH  PERKINS.    Illustrated  by  the  author. 
The  Cave  Twins.  —  The  Spartan  Twins. 

History  Readers. 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN.    Illustrated. 

The  Story  of  the  Greek  People.  —  The  Story  of  the  Roman 
People.  —  Old  World  Hero  Stories.  —  Our  European  Ances- 
tors.—  Letters  from  Colonial  Children.  —  American  Hero 
Stories.  — The  Little  Book  of  the  War. 


Heroes  Every  Child  Should  Know. 

Edited  by  HAMILTON  WRIGHT  MABIE.    Illustrated. 

Dramatized  Scenes  from  American  History. 

By  AUGUSTA  'STEVENSON.    Grades  VI-VIII.    Illustrated. 


FABLE,  MYTH,  AND  FOLK-LORE 

OPERA  STORIES  FROM  WAGNER 

By  FLORENCE  AKIN.     Illustrated. 

IN  THE  DAYS  OF  GIANTS 

By  ABBIE  FARWELL  BROWN.     Illustrated. 

THE  BOOK  OF  SAINTS  AND  FRIENDLY  BEASTS 

By  ABBIE  FARWELL  BROWN.    Illustrated. 

SELECTED  STORIES  FROM  THE  ARABIAN  NIGHTS 

Edited  by  SAMUEL  ELIOT.     Illustrated. 

FOUR    STORIES    FROM    THE    WONDER-BOOK    AND 
TANGLEWOOD  TALES 

By  NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE. 

The  Three  Golden  Apples 
The  Paradise  of  Children 
The  Golden  Touch 
The  Gorgon's  Head 


NORTHLAND  HEROES 

By  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK.    Illustrated. 

THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS 

By  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK. 

FAIRY  TALE  BEARS 

Edited  by  CLIFTON  JOHNSON. 

FAMOUS  OLD  TALES 

Selected  and  Arranged  by  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE.    Illustrated 

THE  BOOK  OF  FABLES  AND  FOLK  STORIES 
Chosen  and  rewritten  by  HORACE  E.  SCUDDER.    Illustrated. 

OLD  BALLADS  IN  PROSE 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAX.     Illustrated. 

BALLADS  AND  LYRICS 
Edited  by  HENRY  CABOT  LODGE. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1937 


MEMORIZING 


THREE  YEARS  WITH  THE  POETS 

Poems,  selected  and  edited  by  BERTHA  HAZARD. 

MELODIES  OF  ENGLISH  VERSE 
By  LEWIS  KENNEDY  MORSE. 

POEMS  FOR  MEMORIZING 

Riverside  Literature  Series. 

SELECTIONS  FOR  STUDY  AND  MEMORIZING 

Riverside  Literature  Series. 
POEMS  FOR  READING  AND  MEMORIZING. 

Grades  I-VIII  in  seven  volumes.     Riverside  Literature  Series 

GOLDEN  NUMBERS 
Compiled  by  KATE  DOUGLAS  WIGGIN  and  NORA  A.  SMITH. 

THE  POSY  RING 

Compiled  by  KATE  DOUGLAS  WIGGIN  and  NORA  A.  SMITH. 

READING  BOOKS 

THE  BASKET  WOMAN 

By  MARY  AUSTIN. 

POETRY  FOR  CHILDREN 

Edited  by  SAMUEL  ELIOT.     Illustrated. 

KITTENS  AND  CATS.  A  First  Reader 
By  EULALIE  OSGOOD  GROVER.     Illustrated. 

THE  HIAWATHA  PRIMER 

By  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK.  Illustrated.  Riverside  Literature  Series 

THE  DOERS 

By  W.  J.  HOPKINS.     Illustrated. 

SINOPAH,  THE  INDIAN  BOY 
By  JAMES  W.  SCHULTZ.     Illustrated. 

LITTLE-FOLK  LYRICS 

By  FRANK  DEMPSTER  SHERMAN.    Illustrated. 

SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  RIVERSIDE  LITERATURE  SE- 
RIES FOR  FIFTH  GRADE  READING 

SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  RIVERSIDE  LITERATURE  SE- 
RIES FOR  SIXTH  GRADE  READING 

SELECTIONS   FROM  THE  RIVERSIDE  LITERATURE  SE- 
RIES FOR  SEVENTH  GRADE  READING 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1938 


LITERATURE  SELECTIONS 

Modern  Prose  and  Poetry  for  Secondary  Schools.     Edited 

by  MARGARET  ASHMUN. 

Prose  Literature  for  Secondary  Schools.  With  some  sug- 
gestions for  correlation  with  composition.  Edited  by 
MARGARET  ASHMUN.  With  an  Introduction  by  WILLARD  G. 
BI.EYER. 

The  High  School  Prize  Speaker.  Edited  by  WILLIAM  L 
SNOW. 

American  and  English  Classics  for  Grammar  Grades. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  for  Fifth 
Grade  Reading. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  for  Sixth 
Grade  Reading. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  for  Seventh 
Grade  Reading. 

Selections  from  the  Riverside  Literature  Series  for  Eighth 
Grade  Reading. 

American  Classics.     (Poems  and  Prose.) 
American  Poems.     Edited  by  HORACE  E.  SCUDDER. 
American  Prose.     Edited  by  HORACE  E.  SCUDDER. 
Literary  Masterpieces. 

Masterpieces  of  American  Literature.  Edited  by  HORAC* 
E.  SCUDDER. 

Masterpieces  of  British  Literature.  Edited  by  HORACE  f 
SCUDDER. 

Masterpieces  of  Greek  Literature.  (Translations.)  Super 
vising  editor,  JOHN  HENRY  WRIGHT. 

Masterpieces  of  Latin  Literature.  (Translations.)  Edited 
by  G.  J.  LAING. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

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1004 


THE  TAPPAN-KENDALL  HISTORIES 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN,  Ph.D.,  and  CALVIN  N.  KENDALL,  LL.D. 
Book  I.   American  Hero  Stories.     (For  Grades  IV-V.) 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

A  logical  introduction  to  Miss  Tappan's  An  Elementary  History  of  Our  Country 
The  stories  are  chronologically  arranged  and  appealingly  toid. 

Book  II.   An  Elementary  History  of  Our  Country.     (For  Grade* 
V-VI.) 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

A  short,  connected,  and  interesting  story  of  the  course  of  events  in  our  history  since 
ibe  discovery  of  America.  The  narrative  is  simple,  and  makes  a  special  appeal  through  its 
anecdotes  of  great  men.  There  are  numerous  stimulating  suggestions  for  written  work. 

Book  III.   Our  European  Ancestors.     (For  Grade  VI.) 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

The  historical  bond  of  union  between  Europe  and  America  is  adequately  developed  i« 
this  book.  In  every  detail  the  book  follows  the  course  in  history  laid  down  for  the  sixth 
grade  by  the  Committee  of  Eight  of  the  American  Historical  Association. 

Book  IV.    History  of  the  United  States  for  Grammar  Schools. 

(For  Grades  VI/-VIII.) 

By  REUBEN  GOLD  THWAITES,  LL.D.,  and  CALVIN  N.  KENDALL,  LL.D. 

There  is  an  adequate  and  up-to-date  account  of  our  social  and  industrial  development 
and  authoritative  chapters  on  the  Great  War.  This  history  combines  accurate  scholarship, 
unusual  interest,  and  a  most  complete  and  helpful  teaching  equipment. 


TIMELY  BOOKS  OF  PATRIOTIC  INTEREST 

I  Am  An  American.     (For  Grades  V-VI.) 

By  SARA  CONE  BRYANT  (Mrs.  Theodore  Y.  Borst) 

Stories  of  Patriotism.     (For  Grades  V-VI) 

Compiled  by  NORM  A  H.  DEMING  and  KATHARINE  I.  BBMIS 

The  Patriotic  Reader.  (For  Grades  VII-  VI II  and  Junior  High  Schools.) 
Compiled  by  K.  I.  BBMIS,  M.  E.  HOLTZ,  and  H.  L.  SMITH,  Ph.D. 

The  Little  Book  of  the  Flag.     (For  Grades  VI,  VII,  VIII.) 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN 

The  Little  Book  of  the  War.    (For  Grades  V II- VIII  and  Junior  Higk 
Schools.)     By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN 

American  Ideals.     (For  High  Schools.) 

Edited  by  NORMAN  FOERSTBR  and  W.  W.  PIERSON,  JR. 

Liberty,  Peace,  and  Justice.    (For  High  Schools.) 

Speeches  and  Addresses  on  Democracy  and  Patriotism,  1776-1918.   Rivet", 
side  Literature  Series,  No.  261 

A  Treasury  of  War  Poetry.     (For  High  Schools.) 

British  and  American  Poems  of  the  World  War.  Edited  by  GEORGE  HER- 
BERT CLARKE.   Riverside  Literature  Series,  No.  262 

Americanization  and  Citizenship. 

Lessons  in  Community  and  National  Ideals  for  New  Americans.    By 
HANSON  HART  WEBSTER 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


Books  on  Patriotic  Subjects 

I  AM  AN  AMERICAN 

By  SARA  CONE  BRYANT  (Mrs.  Theodore  P.  Borst). 

"  Americanism,"  says  Mrs.  Borst, "  needs  to  be  taught  as  definrlely 
as  do  geography  and  arithmetic.  The  grade  teachers  are  doing 
splendid  work  for  patriotism,  with  songs  and  recitations,  story- 
telling, and  talks  on  civic  virtues.  I  have  tried  to  give  them  some- 
thing more  definite  and  coordinated,  something  that  will  serve  as  a 
real  textbook  on  '  Being  an  American.' " 

STORIES  otf  PATRIOTISM. 

Edited  by  NORM  A  H.  DEMING,  and  KATHARINE  I.  BEMIS. 

A  series  of  stirring  tales  of  patriotic  deeds  by  Americans  from  tht 
time  of  the  colonists  to  the  present.  There  are  also  stories  about 
famous  heroes  of  our  Allies  in  tfce  Great  War. 

THE  PATRIOTIC  READER. 

Edited  by  KATHARINE  I.  BEMIS,  MATHILDE  E.  HOLTZ,  and  HENRV 
L.  SMITH. 

The  selections  cover  the  history  of  our  country  from  Colonial 
times.  A  distinguishing  feature  is  the  freshness  of  material  and  thf 
admirable  arrangement.  The  book  gives  one  a  familiarity  with 
literature  that  presents  the  highest  ideals  of  freedom,  justice,  and 
liberty. 

THE  LITTLE  BOOK  OF  THE  FLAG. 

By  EVA  MARCH  TAPPAN. 

In  her  own  entertaining  style,  Miss  Tappan  has  written  the  story 
of  Our  Flag.  She  tells  children  how  to  behave  toward  the  flag,  in  a 
fashion  that  makes  such  behavior  a  sacred  duty.  There  are  selec- 
tions for  Reading  and  Memorizing. 

A  COURSE  IN  CITIZENSHIP  AND  PATRIOTISM, 
Edited  by  E,  L.  CABOT,  F.  F.  ANDREWS,  F.  E.  COB,  M.  HILL,  and  M. 

MCSKIMMON. 

Good  citizenship  grows  out  of  love  of  country  and  in  turn  pro- 
motes the  spirit  of  internationalism.  This  book  teaches  how  to  de- 
velop these  qualities  most  effectually. 

AMERICANIZATION  AND  CITIZENSHIP. 

By  HANSON  HART  WEBSTER. 

"  Well  calculated  to  inculcate  love  for  America,  especially  among 
the  foreign  born.  This  is  to  be  desired  at  this  time  more  than  evei 
before."  —  His  Eminence,  James  Cardinal  Gibbons. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

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